The death of a South Korean diplomat in Saudi Arabia last week has been confirmed to be a result of a car accident, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday, quoting a Saudi police report.

The South Korean consular official, only identified by his surname Kim, was found dead inside his car, which had tumbled down an embankment near a motorway in the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh on Jan. 2.

"Local police concluded that the consular official's death was caused by the accident," a foreign ministry official said.

The diplomat was working at the South Korean embassy in Riyadh and the embassy reported him missing to local police when he did not show up for work, the official said.

Kim was last reported to be driving his car home on the night of Dec. 31 after attending a year-end gathering with Koreans living in Riyadh, the official said. (YONHAP)