Leaders won't meet at Moscow WWII event

The Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye will not attend an event in Moscow to mark the end of World War II in Europe and instead will send an envoy, an official said on Monday, dashing the possibility of a rare meeting with the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Russia has said the DPRK's Kim Jong Un would attend the May 9 celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the war's end.

The ROK Foreign Ministry did not elaborate Monday on why Park had chosen not to attend. It said over the weekend that a ruling Saenuri Party member of parliament's foreign affairs committee, who is also a special aide to Park, would attend as her special envoy.