South Korean president 'may skip China's parade marking 70th anniversary of second world war over Korean crisis'

The latest crisis on the Korean peninsula has not only renewed attention over China's North Korea policy but may also inadvertently impact Beijing's massive military parade next week, according to diplomatic sources and analysts.

As talks to defuse the border stand-off between North and South Korea continued for a third day yesterday, a diplomatic source said South Korean President Park Geun-hye might have to cancel her trip to Beijing if negotiations failed and tensions flared up.

The South Korean government announced last week that Park would be attending activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war next week, although it was still not clear whether she would be showing up at the military parade, a centrepiece event.

Her decision to visit Beijing comes as many Western leaders are still reluctant to lend their support to an event that they see as intended to drum up nationalism in China and to target Japan. Public opinion within South Korea has been split on whether she should go to China, with supporters seeing it as a move to nurture ties with an important economic partner while opponents fear it could undermine relations with the country's major ally the United States. China's support for North Korea during the Korean war has also prompted criticism of Park's trip to China.

"But if the tensions [at the border] escalate, she will not be able to go to Beijing," the source said.

In response to the exchange of fire last week, the foreign ministry in Beijing said in a statement on Thursday that the "relevant parties" should remain calm and restrained. In an apparent rebuttal, the North Korean government said it had exercised "self restraint for decades", and "now no one's talk about self-restraint is helpful to putting the situation under control".