North Korea's nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, had briefly met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an event in Moscow marking the end of World War II in Europe, but the meeting was not meaningful,according to the North's state media and a diplomatic source on Monday.

   Kim, president of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, "met and exchanged greetings" with leaders, including Xi, who attended the Saturday military parade in Moscow, the North's state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported earlier in the day.

   However, the North Korean report stopped short of mentioning the Chinese president by name, in an apparent sign of strained political ties between the two nations.

   The KCNA said Kim "met and exchanged greetings with the presidents of South Africa, Mongolia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, China, Palestine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Egypt and Vietnam" during the Moscow event.

   A diplomatic source in Beijing also downplayed the brief encounter between Kim and Xi, saying it was "not a meaningful contact."

   Asked about details of the encounter between Kim and Xi,China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied on Monday, "I have no information to offer."

   Political ties between North Korea and China remain strained, particularly after the North's third nuclear test in early 2013. (Yonhap)