'Return to normal life' for Australian held in North Korea

How do you get accepted to study at a North Korean university, when your country doesn’t have diplomatic relations with said country. What is he going to do in japan now? Use his knowledge of the North to shed light on the country?

Seems like a strange story.

Who will take over his flourishing business?

His blog posts focused on everyday Pyongyang -- everything from the city's dining scene to North Korean app reviews -- and he married his wife there last year.

Huh? Japanese wife but married her IN North Korea? That's unique. I guess he wont be doing his NK tours in person anymore: https://tongiltours.com/tours

North Koreans want to get out, you know eat food that's not grass based. Maybe get rid of that taper worm. Not have to worry about a concentration camp or being blasted by anti aircraft guns...why on earth would you sign up to live in perpetual fear?

He dodged literally a bullet. Very lucky.

Will be nice to hear the real story. Does he speak fluent Japanese as well?

Well he is not in a coma, probably get work at a convienence store, very lucky boy.

Idiot.

and he says he won't report on anything that happened during his week long captivity. Sounds like an elaborate money making hoax to me. Won't report until someone offers him a 6 figure deal.

Bet his wife was in on it too

The other thing that’s somewhat strange is that his wife, who is Japanese, was with him in North Korea and had their wedding there. I didn’t think Japanese were able to freely travel to North Korea. More questions than answers.

His Japanese wife could very well be of Korean decent. Japan did kidnap a lot of Koreans and bring them here for forced labor during WWII.

Something fishy. This guy is upto something.

How do you get accepted to study at a North Korean university,

The question is how do you accept to go study there ? I dunno what you have to smoke to convince yourself.

What is he going to do in japan now? 

ALT in a Chosen-gakko or glamping tours in the forbidden zone around Fukushima ?

His Japanese wife could very well be of Korean decent

From other articles, his family is from China and Australia, hers from Tokyo and they met as exchange students in China. Only reason the young couple wed there is they are otakus of North Korean culture. Well, she seems a little more reasonable as she was not joining him to live there and she admit in media that he was too naive about the regime...

This guy must be a western intelligence mole. Lots of stuff does not add up.

From other articles, his family is from China and Australia, hers from Tokyo and they met as exchange students in China. Only reason the young couple wed there is they are otakus of North Korean culture. Well, she seems a little more reasonable as she was not joining him to live there and she admit in media that he was too naive about the regime...

Thanks for this.

It wouldn't do his tour business much good if he were to say that those who visit North Korea are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. That's why he's keeping quiet: he doesn't want to dissuade any suckers from signing up for his tours.

Wouldn't ever catch me going to North Korea. I don't fancy bowing to a statue of the man that my Grandfather fought against in the Korean War....

Wouldn't ever catch me going to North Korea. I don't fancy bowing to a statue of the man that my Grandfather fought against in the Korean War...

That's a tough one. I reckon you could chose a package that didn't include the statutes, but I'm not 100% certain.

One of my grandfathers fought Kim's armies and the other fought the Imperial Japanese army. My utmost respect to those men and your grandfather.

Update. DPRK accused him of spying.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48893523

“Investigation revealed that at the instigation of the NK News and other anti-DPRK media he handed over several times the data and photos he collected and analyzed while combing Pyongyang by making use of the identity card of a foreign student,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2019/07/06/North-Korea-says-detained-Australian-student-committed-spying-acts.html