South Korean special envoy meets North Korean's No. 2 man in Moscow

A South Korean special envoy has met with a top North Korean official in Moscow during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, diplomatic sources here said Sunday.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling Saenuri Party encountered Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state, during the Saturday ceremony in Moscow's Red Square, they said. Kim attended the ceremony on behalf of leader Kim Jong-un, Yonhap reported.

Yoon and Kim exchanged just pleasantries, the sources said, without elaborating.

As the special envoy for President Park Geun-hye, Yoon left for Moscow on Friday.

Yoon, who doubles as one of Park's special advisers for political affairs, has called for "active disclosed, behind-the-scene contacts with North Korea" to find a breakthrough in the inter-Korean relations.

While in Russia, Yoon is scheduled to hold a meeting with Yury Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser, before returning home on Tuesday, according to government officials here.