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Aug. 10. (Blue House photo pool)

President Park Geun-hye is carefully weighing whether to attend a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of China’s victory against Japan, the Blue House said on Aug. 10.

“She is giving careful consideration on whether or not to attend,” Blue House spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that day.

The position is being seen as a step forward from the Blue House, which had previously only said nothing had been decided on the event. Sources indicated that the decision is expected to come late next week at the earliest after the Blue House hears the content of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled 70th anniversary address on Aug. 14 and Park’s own 70th anniversary message.

“President Park’s decision could be made as early as late next week after the 70th anniversary events on Aug. 15,” said a Blue House source on condition of anonymity.

While no decision has been made yet, experts said Park‘s attendance could be an opportunity for the administration to share with the world the history of the Korean Liberation Army’s fight against Japan in China. Historically, that army served as a regular force for the provisional Korean government working together with the Chinese government in the armed campaign against Japan that is the focus of the parade.

Some have also argued that Park’s attendance or participation in the parade would be entirely consistent with the Constitution, which stresses the current administration’s direct descent from the provisional government.

But the role of Park’s father, former President Park Chung-hee (in office 1961-79), in opposing the provisional government as a lieutenant in the Japanese empire’s Kwantung Army could prove problematic for the Blue House.

Some are predicting Park could opt to visit and attend the reopening of the Shanghai provisional government complex the same day instead of the parade, although no decision or schedule has been agreed on. The lack of definite details on who would attend and the scheduling of the event on the same day as the internationally more significant Beijing parade have led many to conclude Park is unlikely to go. And with China signaling clearly that it wants Park to attend the parade, analysts said Seoul has little to gain from merely going ahead with the visit while avoiding the parade to reduce the diplomatic burden.

“The President is considering attending, but nothing has been decided and she isn‘t making any major preparations,” said a source at the South Korean general consulate in Shanghai.

Blue House spokesman Min Kyung-wook also responded to reports from Japan’s Kyodo News agency that Washington communicated through diplomatic channels that Park should not attend the anniversary events in China, which he called “baseless.”

“It is not true that the US made a request to South Korea through diplomatic channels asking it not to attend,” Min said, reiterating Seoul’s previously stated position on the reports.

“I have seen reports that the US has also insisted that it is not true,” Min added.

There is also the question of who North Korea plans to send to attend the anniversary events in China. If Park does attend without the presence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom China also invited, the result could be a delicate situation in which Beijing is left appearing to favor the South rather than the North as agents in the anti-Japan fight on the Korean Peninsula.

By Kim Oi-hyun and Choi Hye-jeong, staff reporters

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