Australian government officials are urgently seeking to confirm whether one of its citizens has been detained in North Korea.

The family of Alek Sigley, an Australian student living in Pyongyang, say they have not heard from him for 48 hours, which is unusual. Active on social media, he does not appear to have logged into his Twitter or Facebook accounts for several days.

It is not known why Sigley, an Asian scholar and fluent Korean speaker, might have been detained. He is thought to be the only Australian living in North Korea. His family cannot confirm if he has been arrested, but Australian government officials say it is a "very serious set of circumstances."

Originally from Perth, in Western Australia, the 29-year-old has been living in the North Korean capital for the past year while studying Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University. He has also run a business running tours for Western tourists visiting the totalitarian and impoverished North Korean state.