A South Korean exchange student has died in Russia after being attacked by a group of Russian youths.

Local investigators said that the male Korean student, identified by his surname Kang, was walking down the street in the Siberian city of Barnaul on Monday with a female friend when the attack ensued.

Doctors at the hospital where Kang was transported to said Kang was placed in intensive care, where he died on Thursday from his injuries.

Kang, a sophomore at a university in Gwangju, had been taking part in an exchange program at a university in Barnaul near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan.

Local police said three suspects, aged between ten and 20, have been arrested and are being investigated for aggravated assault.

Russian news agencies are reporting that a knife was used during the attack.

Given that Kang was not robbed, investigators are looking into the possibility that the attack was motivated by racism.

Last year alone, 70 people died in Russia as part of racist attacks. In 2007, a South Korean student was killed in such an attack.