A South Korean actress who was once kidnapped by North Korea and forced to make films for the rogue state has died at the age of 92.

Choi Eun-hee was a leading actress in the south of the Korean peninsula when she was kidnapped under the orders of then-leader Kim Jong-il in the late 1970s.

Her ex-husband, famous film director Shin Sang-ok , was abducted himself several months later and they later escaped.

North Korea has aways denied abducting the couple and said the pair had sought sanctuary there.

Choi Eun-hee and her ex-husband Shin Sang-ok (
Image:
AFP)
Choi Eun-hee has died aged 92 (
Image:
AFP)

"My mother passed away when she went to hospital for kidney dialysis this afternoon," Choi's eldest son, director Shin Jeong-gyun, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.

Ms Choi was born in 1926 and began her film career in 1947.

She and her then-husband Shin Sang-ok eventually rose to be among South Korea's most celebrated film directors and stars.

However by the late 70s the couple had split and Choi's career was on the wane.

Choi was then approached by someone posing as a Hong Kong businessman with a proposal to form a film-making company.

South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee attends an awards ceremony in Seoul in September 2011 (
Image:
REX/Shutterstock)
Tributes have poured in for the actress (
Image:
AFP)

But upon arriving in Hong Kong she was grabbed and sedated by a group of men.

Eight days later she was in Pyongyang in a villa that was constantly under guard.

Mr Shin and his ex-wife had remained close and he went to Hong Kong to look for her. He too was later abducted.

After eight years held as effective prisoners in North Korea, the couple won Kim Jong-il's trust and were allowed to travel to Vienna to promote their films.

Actress Choi Eun-hee and her ex-husband Shin Sang-ok arriving at Gimpo airport in Seoul in 1989 (
Image:
AFP)
The once-married couple remained close (
Image:
AFP)

While in Vienna, the duo sought political asylum at the US embassy. They returned to South Korea years later and Mr Shin died in 2006.

Ms Choi's funeral will be held on Thursday in Seoul.