China invites Pres. Lee Jae Myung

[Anchor]

It has been reported that China has inquired whether President Lee Jae Myung is willing to attend the Victory Day parade to be held in September.

We have also invited President Xi Jinping to the APEC summit in Gyeongju in October, and with the ongoing U.S.-China rivalry, we are in a situation where a difficult decision must be made.

Reporter Song Geum-han reports.

[Report]

China is planning to hold a grand military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing this September to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

They plan to invite many foreign leaders, and it is reported that during a director-level meeting between South Korea and China held in Seoul yesterday (7.1), they conveyed a message expressing hope for President Lee Jae Myung's attendance.

Although a formal invitation has not yet been extended, the Chinese embassy in South Korea has stated that they "welcome the participation of the Korean side."

The presidential office explained that they are "communicating with China regarding related matters," and that they are discussing ways to develop bilateral relations based on mutual understanding through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

President Lee invited President Xi to the APEC summit in Gyeongju this October during a phone call shortly after his inauguration.

Now, we are in a situation where we must first decide on President Lee's visit to China, taking into account domestic anti-China sentiment and the attendance of other leaders.

Immediately, the opposition party argued that President Xi's visit to South Korea should come first, claiming that President Lee's visit to China for Victory Day directly contradicts national interests.

The escalating U.S.-China conflict under the Trump administration is also a burden.

[Park Byeong-gwang/Chief Researcher, National Security Strategy Institute: "There is concern that this could reinforce the perception in the U.S. that 'Korea is leaning towards China' in the context of the Korea-U.S. alliance and Korea-China relations."]

In 2015, former President Park Geun-hye attended the 70th anniversary event of Victory Day after much deliberation, but relations soured afterward due to stark differences in positions regarding North Korea's provocations, such as the deployment of THAAD and nuclear tests.

This is KBS News, Song Geum-han.