The family of an Australian man believed to be held in North Korea are hopeful they can make contact with him soon.

Alek Sigley, 29, studies and works in Pyongyang, but hasn’t posted anything on social media since Tuesday, which is unusual for him.

Foreign Affairs is urgently working to find out if he’s been arrested in the rogue nation.

Professor Andrew O’Neil, a North Korea political expert from Griffith University, told Tom Elliott the nation had become more popular for westerners in recent years.

“But at the end of the day, the regime hasn’t changed,” he said.

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