미국 백악관은 9일(현지시간) 다음 달 3일 베이징(北京)에서 열리는 중국의 항일승전 기념행사(열병식)에 박근혜 대통령이 참 석하지 말 것을 한국 정부에 요청한 사실이 없다고 밝혔다.
백악관은 이날 '미국 정부가 박 대통령이 참석하지 말 것을 외교 경로를 통해 한국 정부에 요청했다'는 일본 교도통신 보도와 관련한 연합뉴스의 논평 요청에 대해 이같이 답변했다.
백악관은 "우리는 박 대통령에게 중국의 다음 달 행사에 참석하지 말라는 뜻을 표명한 적이 없다"고 밝혔다.
이에 앞서 우리 외교부 당국자도 연합뉴스와의 통화에서 교도통신의 보도에 대해 "(외교적으로) 있을 수가 없는 얘기이고, 실제 그런 일도 없다"고 말했다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
U.S. denies asking President Park not to attend China ceremony
The United States Sunday denied a news report that it has asked South Korean President Park Geun-hye not to attend China's celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Citing U.S. government and diplomatic sources, Japan's Kyodo News earlier reported that the U.S. government conveyed to South Korea that if Park attends the Sept. 3 ceremony in Beijing, it would send a false message to the world that China has cracked the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
The U.S. expressed its concerns through its embassy in Seoul and other channels, the report said.
"We did not tell President Park to not attend the ceremony in China," the White House said in response to a Yonhap News Agency's request for comment on the Kyodo report.
In Seoul, the South Korean Foreign Ministry also denied the report.
"The report is not true," a Foreign Ministry official said. "A situation like that would never happen."
China has invited world leaders to attend the huge military parade in September that is expected to highlight Japan's surrender in the war, but many Western leaders are likely to shun the event because it could trumpet China's rivalry with Japan.
South Korea also feels awkward about accepting China's invitation for the same reason. Additionally, Beijing has been increasingly assertive in territorial disputes with its neighbors.
Another embarrassing point is that the military parade will be staged at Tiananmen Square, where the Chinese Communist Party crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in a bloody crackdown in 1989.
South Korea and China are former battlefield foes as China fought alongside North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War, while the United States and 20 other allied countries fought on South Korea's side under the U.N. flag.
But Seoul and Beijing have steadily improved ties since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. (Yonhap)
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