The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Saturday the Australian student who was expelled from the country after 10 days' detention had committed “spying acts” through his work with foreign media. 

"He honestly admitted his spying acts of systematically collecting and offering data (to foreign media) about the domestic situation of the DPRK and repeatedly asked for pardon," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. 

The DPRK government expelled him "by showing humanitarian leniency," said the report. 

Alek Sigley was an active social media user and also a regular contributor to international media organisations including NK News during his time in the DPRK. 

"Investigations 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 analysed while combing Pyongyang by making use of the identity card of a foreign student," KCNA said.

According to the NK News website, Sigley's latest post, uploaded on April 30, described his dining experiences in Pyongyang. 

While Chad O'Carroll, CEO of NK News publisher the Korea Risk Group, rejected the student's anti-DPRK acts in a statement. 

"The six articles Alek published represent the full extent of his work with us and the idea that those columns, published transparently under his name between January and April 2019, are 'anti-state' in nature is a misrepresentation which we reject."

KCNA said Sigley admitted his "spying acts" and repeatedly asked for a pardon. It added that he was expelled from the DPRK on Thursday. 

On Friday Sigley said he was safe and well in Tokyo and intended returning to a normal life. 

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)