Tokyo: An Australian student on Friday thanked Swedish and his country's diplomats for securing his release in North Korea but kept mum about what led to his weeklong detention.

"I intend now to return to normal life but wanted to first publicly thank everyone who worked to ensure I was safe and well," Alek Sigley said in a statement released by his family's spokeswoman in Australia, a day after he was flown from Pyongyang to Beijing and then Tokyo to be reunited with his Japanese wife. He asked media to respect his privacy and said he has no plans to hold a news conference.