Don’t Rain on Our Parade, China Tells N.Korea

Malaysian Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting would be among 19 high-level government representatives to attend the event, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming at the press conference.

According to a commentary penned by Beijing-based journalist Mu Chunshan in Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao, however, the parade will also pose a challenge to balance three sets of tense diplomatic relations – Russian Federation and the West, China and Japan, and North and South Korea.

Meanwhile, South Korean president Park Geun-hye has confirmed that she will ignore pressure from the US and attend the parade, and Beijing needs to carefully consider how it will balance interests when Park and Choe inevitably cross paths, Mu said.

Some critics, however, have taken issue with the history of Chinese troops fighting alongside the North in the 1950-53 Korean War. They are preparing for the Sept 3 military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

An official from the Blue House said North Korean soldiers will not be in the parade, allowing Park to attend the event. “This can only send a worrying message to China’s neighbors”, a senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity. “This lends weight to the probability that China wants to hear what North Korea has to say about the fractious situation on the Korean Peninsula over the past week”. “This doesn’t seem like an expression of active commitment to improving North Korea-China relations”, the source concluded. Kim Jong Un is thought to be sending Choe to convey North Korea’s stance on the situation and restore bilateral ties between China and North Korea.

On the possibility of Park’s formal meeting with Choe in Beijing this time, the ministry official was skeptical.

The presidency announced Zuma’s attendance at the ceremony as the leaders of Japan, the US and the UK said they would not attend because they were concerned at a show of military force at a time when tensions were running high in the region.