South Korea has been considering sending its honor guard to a military parade in Beijing in September marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.
China has invited South Korean troops to march together with the Chinese military in the upcoming military parade that is expected to highlight Japan’s surrender in the war.
“The Chinese side invited our honor guard to march together in the September military parade and we are considering the invitation,” the South Korean diplomatic source said on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
However, South Korea feels awkward about accepting the Chinese invitation because the September parade could risk trumpeting China’s rivalry with Japan amid Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions in territorial disputes with its neighbors, according to the source.
Another embarrassing point is that the military parade will be staged at Tiananmen Square, where the Chinese Communist Party crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in a bloody crackdown in 1989.
South Korea and China, former battlefield foes, have steadily worked together to improve relations in the military field.
China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War, while the United States and 20 other allied countries fought on South Korea’s side under the U.N. flag. (Yonhap)
