Search opens for missing North Koreans in Russia: news reports

Authorities in Vladivostok, a port city in the far eastern region of Russia, have launched an investigation into the disappearance of two North Koreans, Russian news outlets reported Tuesday.

The missing North Koreans are believed to be wife and son of an official working at the North Korean consulate general there, according to the Arguments & Facts weekly owned by the Government of Moscow.

The two -- 43-year-old Kim Kum-sun and 15-year-old Park Kwon-ju -- were last seen leaving the North Korean consulate general office in Vladivostok on Sunday morning and have been unaccounted for since, the report said.

The report said the cab driver who picked them up outside the consulate general office told authorities he dropped them off near a building on the city’s Russkaya Street, which was confirmed by closed-circuit TV footage.

The investigation was opened following a missing person report filed by the North Korean consul general office.

Local outlets in Vladivostok published personal details such as their names and age and photographs of the missing North Koreans with descriptions of what they were seen wearing last.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was unable to confirm the news reports as of Wednesday afternoon.

The last time officials for the North Korean mission in Russia fled to seek asylum was in 2016.