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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks at a summit on supply chains led by the US in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 31. (provided by the Blue House)

The Blue House said Wednesday that it’s not considering a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. South Korean officials seem to be prudently considering their relationship with China, which is Korea’s top trading partner, amid the confrontation between the US and China.

“For the moment, our government isn’t considering a [diplomatic] boycott of the Beijing Olympics. We haven’t made a decision about the attendance of a government delegation and will let you know when we do,” a senior official at the Blue House said in the press briefing room on Wednesday.

The official was responding to a question about the South Korean government’s position on the US’ declaration of a diplomatic boycott of the games.

The Blue House official went on to say, “The US gave South Korea advance notice that it was going to declare a diplomatic boycott. The US’ position is that the question of whether to go through with a diplomatic boycott is something each country must decide for itself.”

By disclosing the US’ opinion on that question, the Blue House appears to have been stressing the South Korean government’s autonomy on whether to declare a diplomatic boycott. The implication is that Korea is in a different situation from Australia and other countries that have decided to jump on the diplomatic boycott bandwagon.

That said, Korea is likely to delay making an official announcement about whether President Moon Jae-in will attend the opening ceremony of the games as it keeps an eye on developments.

The senior official from the Blue House reaffirmed Korea’s basic position on these matters.

“Considering that China is our strategic cooperative partner and our largest trading partner, the South Korean government’s position is that it needs to harmoniously develop relations with China based on its alliance with the US. Since the Beijing Olympics is part of the [Northeast Asia] Olympics relay, following the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Winter Olympics, the government hopes the games will contribute to global peace and prosperity and inter-Korean relations.”

Korea will also have to consider that China sent a delegation to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The Blue House dismissed the possibility that the US’ diplomatic boycott could disrupt South Korea’s efforts to broker a formal end to the Korean War.

“The end-of-war declaration and the Beijing Olympics aren’t directly related. We don’t have any particular time or occasion in mind for the end-of-war declaration we’re trying to arrange,” the senior official said.

By not insisting that the declaration take place at the Beijing Olympics, the South Korean government seeks to alleviate tensions surrounding its pursuit of an end-of-war declaration.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]