A senior North Korean diplomat in Italy is reportedly seeking asylum in a third country.

According to a diplomatic source on Thursday, Jo Song-gil, the charge d'affaires at the North's embassy in Rome and his family have gone into hiding and there's a possibility that they could be seeking asylum.

It is unclear whether Jo had expressed a desire to come to South Korea.

Jo, who was dispatched to Italy in 2015, has headed the North's mission there since Italy expelled Ambassador Mun Jong-nam in October 2017 following Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test in September that year.

Intelligence sources in Seoul declined to confirm the asylum bid, while the Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had no information regarding media reports on the North Korean diplomat.