CHERUTHONI: A Malayali PhD student collapsed and died at an airport in North Korea on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Vazhathoppu native Leeja Jose (28). Leeja had been doing PhD in North Korea for the last 4 years.

According to sources, Leeja collapsed while she was waiting at the airport for the return flight to India. Although she was immediately rushed to the nearby Medical College, she was pronounced dead. It is learnt that she was suffering from earache and body pain for the past few days and was planning to return to Kerala for treatment.