Seoul: South Korea recently held a secret
meeting with North Korea in Beijing during which the two sides
discussed ways to achieve a breakthrough in strained
inter-Korean relations, a news report on Thursday said.
The meeting was held between Yim Tae Hee, a former South
Korean presidential chief of staff, and North Korean diplomats
in the Chinese capital, Kyodo quoted South Korean news agency
Yonhap as saying.
"Yim and an accompanying person met with two diplomats
from the North Korean embassy here from Feb 2 to 4," an
unidentified source said.
"I heard Yim told North Koreans that if Pyongyang shows
more flexibility with issues on the Kaesong Industrial Complex
and on the Mount Kumgang resort, then there could be more room
for discussions," the source said.
Yim was reportedly accompanied by a North Korean expert
surnamed Yoo, who is also an entrepreneur.
Yim had previously contacted North Korean government
officials in Singapore while he was the minister of labor in
2009.
He did not meet any North Korean officials from
Pyongyang`s ruling Workers` Party of Korea in Beijing, the
source said.
Yim downplayed his latest meeting with North Koreans,
telling Yonhap over phone that it was only "a private visit"
to China.
The report on the inter-Korean contact came after the
North has repeatedly vowed not to engage with the government
of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak.
PTI
