North Korean Student 'Kidnapped' In Paris

Paris prosecutors are investigating the disappearance of a North Korean student linked to political rivals of leader Kim Jong-Un, a judicial source said.

There are fears the student, identified only as Han, may have been forcibly taken back to North Korea to be executed.

The student was reportedly picked up by the agents but dramatically escaped while being taken to the airport.

However, he has not been seen for at least 15 days.

Han is the son of an aide to Jang Song-thaek, Kim's uncle who was once considered the number two in the regime but who was executed in December on treason charges.

Han's father is also known to have been "purged" recently, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, as part of the Kim regime's continued work to clear the remnants of the Jang era.

"I asked other students and faculty members about Han's whereabouts but nobody has seen him in at least 15 days," a senior official at Han's school told Yonhap.

Han and nine other North Koreans have been studying at a prestigious architecture college in Paris since 2011 after being offered places by the French government.

Le Parisien newspaper reported on Friday that the other nine had also disappeared at the same time as Han, but had since reappeared.

The newspaper reported that France has been discreetly allowing North Korean students to come to France to study architecture since 2002.

A teacher at the school revealed that North Korean students were closely watched.

"There was often a suited Asian man who came to classes," said the teacher, who was not named.

"One time, a representative of the North Korean delegation in Paris wanted to resit the exams in the place of a student who had failed the year."

That student was "never seen again," the teacher added.