THE anxious mother of a murdered South Korean student, whose body was dumped in a suitcase near York, was told not to worry about her daughter's disappearance by the man accused of killing her, a jury heard at the Old Bailey.

Kyu Soo Kim, 32, told Hyun-Han Jin, the mother of Hyo Jung Jin, 21, whose body was found in a suitcase in a country lane near Askham Richard, in November, 2001, that her missing daughter was travelling with friends in Europe, the court was told.

It was claimed he told her: "Don't worry, she'll be back soon."

Prosecutor Sallie Bennett-Jenkins read a police statement from Mrs Jin, which recounted a telephone conversation with Kim, made after she became concerned over her daughter's whereabouts.

She said Kim, who is also accused of murdering student In Hea Song, 22, in December 2001, said Miss Jin had come back to the flat, where he was sub-letting a room to her, accompanied by three Korean students and said they were going travelling.

He said he had taken them to Victoria train station the next day, it was claimed.

But Mrs Jin told Kim that he could not be telling the truth as a withdrawal was made from her family account from a London cash machine on October 30, 2001 - after the journey to Victoria. She told police: "Kim told me not to worry and even comforted me. He said she had probably decided not to go yet and that is why she had not been in touch."

The court heard how the phone conversation took place a few days after Miss Jin went missing.

The prosecution alleges that, in separate murders, Kim bound and gagged both Miss Jin and Miss Song with packing tape and extracted their bank card PIN numbers from them as they suffocated to death. It has been alleged he may have done it for sadistic kicks rather than financial gain or sexual gratification.

Kim denies the murders, but has admitted the manslaughter of Miss Song. The prosecution has refused to accept that lesser plea.

The trial continues.

Updated: 11:07 Friday, March 07, 2003