Australian Man Detained in North Korea

An Australian man who was part of a tour group has been detained in North Korea, reports suggest.

John Short had some Gospel tracts in Korean, which appears to be the cause of the arrest.

"It is alleged he is being asked questions like 'who sent you?', 'to what organisation do you belong?' and 'who translated this into Korean?'" his wife, Karen Short, said.

North Korea has not commented on Short's arrest.

Short, who lives in Hong Kong, went to Pyongyang on Saturday and the next night, police questioned him in his hotel and took him into custody.

His family only found out about the arrest after another member of the tour group arrived back in China on Tuesday and the tour group member has since been the only source of information.

John Short has been arrested before, multiple times, while in China for speaking out against the brutality of their regime and for suggesting Chinese Christians are unfairly victimised.

Last year, North Korea sentenced Korean- American Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labour for speaking out against the government. Washington has repeatedly tried to call Pyongyang to release Bae after serious questions about his health were raised.

Bae's family said he was also part of a tour company.

The regime "considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organisation and interaction outside of the state," said a recent UN report.