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