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| President Park Geun-hye, third from right, is among VIPs at the podium to observe a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, Thursday. From right are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Park, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Uzbek President Islam Karimov and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye observed China's military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Thursday, becoming the first South Korean president to do so.
This symbolizes Beijing's changing view towards Seoul and Pyongyang.
While the huge military parade was rolling through Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Park was sitting two seats to the right of Chinese President Xi Jinping on the rostrum of the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin sat between Park and Xi.
North Korea, China's major ally, also dispatched its representative, Choe Ryong-hae, but the politburo member was seated at the far end -- a sharp contrast with previous events, where late founder Kim Il-sung stood alongside former Chinese leaders.
Many Western leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shunned the commemoration, worried their attendance would send a message that endorsed China's military swagger.
Park decided to attend the war anniversary event, despite possible complaints from the United States, due to the growing security challenges from Pyongyang.
China is seen as the only country that can exert influence over the Kim Jong-un regime despite the current shaky relations, dented by the North's third nuclear test and execution of Kim's pro-China uncle, Jang Song-thaek, which took place in 2013.
Amid the lukewarm ties, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has yet to meet the Chinese President since taking power in December 2011. China fought alongside the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against the South and the U.S.-led United Nations (U.N.) forces.
On the other hand, Xi described the Sino-South ties, Wednesday, have grown into the best ever.
Since her inauguration in February 2013, Park has held six summits with Xi.
During Wednesday's summit, the two heads of state made it clear that they stand firm against the North's provocative moves, and called for a resumption of the six-party talks to denuclearize the secretive regime.
In addition, the two sides agreed to beef up bilateral economic cooperation, including signing a free trade agreement. The stronger bilateral relations were also shown from the beginning of Park's trip Wednesday.
After the summit, the Chinese leader exclusively hosted a lunch for his Korean counterpart, while Park also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang to discuss economic cooperation.
In addition, ahead of a post-parade reception, China provided an exclusive waiting room for Park in the latest sign Beijing is taking extra care of her.
"President Xi repeatedly instructed his officials to treat President Park well because she is one of the very important guests to attend the war celebrations," said an official of Cheong Wa Dae.
Throughout the war anniversary events, China's treatment of the North Korean delegation fell short of its warm welcome for Park.
During a banquet for foreign guests Wednesday, Xi greeted Choe, followed by an apathetic handshake. Xi did not meet Choe exclusively.
The 70-minute show of force featured 12,000 goose-stepping soldiers and a huge array of advanced military hardware along with 200 aircraft to flaunt its growing military capabilities vying with the U.S..
According to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), 84 percent of armaments on display during the parade -- from ballistic missiles to bombers -- were unveiled for the first time.
Xi, the commander-in-chief of the PLA and head of the Chinese Communist Party, has been taking a tougher line in handling territorial disputes with neighbors.
Given China remains at loggerheads with neighboring countries over its land reclamation and rapid creation of an archipelago of artificial islands, neighboring countries as well as the U.S. were on alert over the event to show off its military might.
In this respect, there was a media report that the U.S. government had urged President Park to stay away from the event -- although Seoul and Washington later denied this.
