Son of Purged Aide Escapes Forced Repatriation to NK

A North Korean student attending university
in Paris has reportedly been in hiding for over two weeks after escaping a forced repatriation by
Pyongyang
s security officials en route to the airport.

The student, surnamed Han, is known to be the
son of one of Jang Song Taek
s aides, who was purged
along with the former top official. This move seems to be part of the protracted purges being carried out since late last year in North Korea.

North Korean state security officials from
one of Pyongyang
s embassies based in Europe entered
the student
s home, confiscated his passport and mobile
phone, and attempted to drag him to the airport to send him back to North Korea, according to
local Korean sources.

The student, who was studying architecture
in France–well aware of his father having been executed and his families and
relatives being sent off to political prison camps–succeeded in escaping on
his way to the airport.

French police and officials from the school in which Han is enrolled have been trying to track him down.

France and North Korea have not established
diplomatic ties; however, Paris has allowed Pyongyang to open a mission in its
country and engages in exchanges with the country, although limited. In 2011, the
French government invited ten North Korean students [all thought to be children of high-ranking officials], including Han, to study at
its two most renowned architecture schools, Ecole Nationale Superieure d
Architecture de Paris-La Villette and L’ecole d’architecture
Belleville.

If the alleged forced repatriation turns out to be true, the issue is expected to become a source of diplomatic bickering between the two countries. The Norths security officials, who tried to escort the student back home, are
known to have come from a third country bordering with France–potentially creating a source of tension between that state and Pyongyang.