TRIPOLI, Libya — Gunmen in Libya have abducted a South Korean trade agency official in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The Foreign Ministry in Seoul says Han Seok-woo, a 39-year old official of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency KOTRA, was abducted early on Monday.

A Libyan security official says the abduction took place in Tripoli's upscale Qarqarish neighborhood as the man was leaving his embassy.

The official says armed men blocked the road in front of his car and forced him to step out, then pushed him into their car and sped away, leaving the official's vehicle and driver.

The Libyan official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media.