President Roh Moo-hyun departed for Moscow on Sunday to attend a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Roh decided to attend the ceremony to actively take part in international peace discussions that could affect peace talks for the Korean Peninsula, an aide to Roh said.

During his stay in Moscow, Roh will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yonhap said.

It is Roh's second visit to Russia since September last year when he met with Russian President Putin in Moscow to discuss the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and bilateral cooperation in energy, aerospace and other fields.

On his way back home from Moscow on Tuesday, Roh will make a three-day state visit to Uzbekistan and have talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on regional peace and security and economic issues.

The visit is being made in return for a visit to South Korea by Karimov in October 1999, an aide to Roh said, hoping the visit will help lay the groundwork for South Korean companies to make inroads into Central Asian nations.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)