S. KOREA STUCK BETWEEN U.S.- CHINA ROW

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea has found itself in a tricky situation following the US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics and China's protest against it. Eyes are on whether Seoul will join Washington's move. South Korea again finds itself in the middle of tensions between its biggest ally the U.S. and its largest trading partner China.

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Seoul says it has nothing to say regarding Washington's diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. It called the move simply "a diplomatic decision of another country." South Korea has been a strong supporter of the successful hosting of the upcoming Winter Olympics in hopes that the Olympic Games would contribute to world peace and inter-Korean relations, just like the Games in PyeongChang and Tokyo. Seoul was notified of Washington's decision to boycott the Beijing Games, but said there was no request to join.

[Soundbite] Choi Young-sam(Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson) : "Nothing is decided yet on whether a government delegation will attend the Games."

However, the row between the U.S. and China over human rights is inevitably a big burden for South Korea. Seoul has already notified Beijing that its minister of culture, sports and tourism would attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Games and other high-level events, but the matter could be adjusted later. South Korea will likely reach a final decision after monitoring the reaction of the international community. One of the factors to be considered is that Beijing sent a high-level delegation to the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics three years ago. Observers say it would be difficult for Seoul to join the boycott 100 percent.

[Soundbite] Park Byung-kwang(Institute for National Security Strategy) : "China is Korea's largest trade partner and its help and role in solving North Korea's nuclear issue is essential. It's difficult for us to follow the U.S. unilaterally to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics."

Some say Seoul's proposition to put an official end to the Korean War could hit a snag because of Washington's boycott. But the nation's top office denied it by saying the Olympic Games and the declaration of the end of war are two different matters.