TEHRAN, Jul 10 - An Australian student who was held in North Korea for a week and then deported denied being a spy on Tuesday and expressed sorrow that he won't be able to return to finish his graduate studies at Kim Il Sung University.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - North Korea said on Saturday that it detained Alek Sigley because he had spread anti-state propaganda and engaged in spying by providing photos and other materials to news organizations with critical views toward the North. It said it deported Sigley last Thursday after he pleaded for forgiveness for his activities.
Sigley spoke briefly to reporters after being deported but didn't say what had happened to him.
In a series of tweets Tuesday, Sigley answered some questions but again said little about his detention.
"The allegation that I am a spy is (pretty obviously) false," he said. He said the only material he gave to the news organizations was what was published publicly.
Sigley had been among a few Western students studying in the North Korean capital and also operated a tour agency there.
He tweeted Tuesday that he wants to continue his academic research on North Korea, but has no plans to visit again. He said his tour agency has canceled all tours until further notice.
"The whole situation makes me very sad. I will now be unable to receive my master's degree from Kim Il Sung University after completing more than half the course and achieving good results," he tweeted.
"I may never again walk the streets of Pyongyang, a city that holds a very special place in my heart."
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Sigley had abused his status as a student by "combing" through Pyongyang and providing photos and other information to news sites such as NK News and other "anti-DPRK" media, an abbreviation of North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It said the North expelled Sigley out of "humanitarian leniency."
Source: AP
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