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A North Korean student, the son of an aide to Kim Jong-un’s executed uncle, is on the run in France after evading an abduction attempt by Pyongyang’s agents, according to foreign diplomats.

“There was an attempt to force him to go back, but it is thought he escaped and is somewhere in France. There is an attempt to locate him but he hasn’t been found yet,” said one diplomatic source.

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The architecture student, referred to only by his surname Han, vanished from Paris last month. He is believed to be the son of a close confidant of Jang Song-thaek, Mr Kim’s once powerful uncle who was executed last December on treason charges. His father was killed recently as part of the purge of Jang’s allies.

“Since the 1980s, when the regime changes and someone is executed and his relatives and friends and family are studying abroad, they are brought home,” said Park Sung-jin, Paris correspondent for Yonhap, South Korea’s biggest news agency. “If Han returned he would likely be kept in a political prison or executed. That has happened many times. He knew what was awaiting him, so he escaped.”