South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, has accepted an invitation to attend Beijing's military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Yet as Seoul has been trying to balance its relationship between China and the US, debate has raged whether Park should go or not, according to a report in Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao.
South Korean media and lawmakers have undertaken vigorous debate as to whether Park should attend. Some feel South Korea stands to gain economically as Beijing would consider Park's attendance a soft power victory, and this could mean the full implementation of the free trade agreement recently agreed between the two countries. Others however make the case that Seoul would be criticized by Washington if Park attends and this could lead to friction in the US-South Korea or US-Japan-South Korea relations, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency. South Korean officials have denied that the US urged Park not to go, reports China's state-owned media China News Service.
Read the full story at Want China Times