Yim Tae-hee, a former South Korean presidential chief of staff, recently met with North Korean diplomats in the Chinese capital, a source here said Thursday.

"Yim and an accompanying person met with two diplomats from the North Korean embassy here from Feb. 2 to 4," the 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."

Yim was reportedly accompanied by an entrepreneur known as an expert on North Korea.

Yim had previously contacted North Korean government officials in Singapore while he was the minister of labor in 2009. He didn't meet any North Korean officials from Pyongyang's ruling Workers' Party in Beijing, the source said.

Yim told Yonhap News Agency over phone that he visited China for meetings in his capacity as head of the Korea Volleyball Association, stressing that it was only "a private visit."

(Yonhap News)