Hostage situation unfolds at cafe in Sydney, Australia 호주 시드니 도심서 IS 추정 인질극… 한

But first… the situation in Sydney At least a dozen or as many as 40 people are being held hostage at a Lindt chocolate cafe in downtown Sydney For the latest, we connect live to Arirang′s Kim Min-ji So, Min-ji what′s the situation now? We′re just getting word that three hostages have escaped from inside that cafe in Sydney No details on who they are or how they got out, but we′ll of course be following that Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the nation, and urged people to stay calm "Australia is a peaceful open and generous society, nothing should ever change that And that′s why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual " He also provided a national security hotline should people suspect that another attack is in the works This situation at the cafe broke out just before 10 a m local time People were seen with their hands in the air against the window in the Lindt chocolate shop at Martin Place which is located in the heart of Sydney′s shopping and banking district A black flag with white Arabic writing was also held up by people inside raising suspicions that this attack could be linked to Islamic State militants However, reports suggest it is NOT an Islamic State flag Instead, it bears the Shahada a neutral Islamic creed that′s seen on things like the Saudi Arabian flag but also embraced by jihadist groups Police say there are an unknown number of hostages inside the cafe, although reports say the number is right around 20 The CEO of Lindt Australia has told various media that he believes 10 staff members and about 30 customers are inside the cafe Police have also confirmed that they′re looking at one armed suspect right now, although they say they haven′t made contact with him yet Police have cordoned off the area, and are also temporarily controlling the air space above Sydney The Sydney Opera House has also been evacuated after a suspicious package was found there And we′re not really getting any information about who′s being held captive but there are reports that there′s one Korean-Australian among the hostages? That′s right A female Korean-Australian college student is reportedly among those being held Surnamed Bae, she is believed to be one of the staff working inside the cafe Korea′s foreign ministry is trying to confirm this, and it is also communicating with local authorities to determine if there are more Koreans involved We can imagine how frightening and tense the air must be in Sydney The threat of a terror attack like this one has loomed over Australia for some time now Give us a sense of how the government there has prepared That′s right In September, the country raised its terror threat level and conducted large-scale counter terror raids across the country Also this morning, police arrested a man in Sydney on charges of terrorism offenses But police say, they don′t believe th