A South Korean envoy attending Russia’s World War II anniversary ceremony briefly met with North Korea’s ceremonial head of state in a rare high-level encounter between the rival nations, a report said yesterday.
South Korean Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, who was visiting Moscow on behalf of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, met on Saturday with Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong-nam, Yonhap news agency said, citing anonymous Seoul officials.
However, the two only exchanged pleasantries during their encounter after a military parade in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, it said.
Kim, the president of North Korea’s parliament, traveled to Russia after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un canceled a planned, much-anticipated visit.
The young leader canceled what would have been his first overseas trip since taking office due to internal issues, Pyongyang’s state media said earlier.
Kim Yong-nam, 87, has frequently traveled overseas as Pyongyang’s representative head of state.
The encounter came as cross-border tensions remained high, punctuated by sporadic minor skirmishes along the border and occasional missile launches by the nuclear-armed North.
On Saturday, the North said it had test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, and separately test-fired three anti-ship cruise missiles off its east coast.
The last high-level meeting between two Koreas took place in October, when three top-ranking Pyongyang officials made a surprise visit to the Asian Games held in the South.
The two nations then agreed to hold high-level talks by early November to discuss mutual concerns. However, the agreement fizzled out over bickering over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent to the North by Seoul rights activists.
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