The militaries of South and North Korea have been invited to take part in a Chinese military parade in September marking the end of World War II, a South Korean diplomatic source said Wednesday.
China is scheduled to hold the military parade on Sept. 3 with foreign militaries invited to join for the first time. Russia is widely expected to send troops, but Beijing has sidestepped questions on which foreign countries' militaries were invited.
"To my knowledge, China has sent invitations to the militaries of South and North Korea to take part in the military parade," the source said on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
South Korea is "carefully weighing" the Chinese invitation, but no decision has been made, the source said.
China has asked South Korea to send an honor guard to the parade, which would highlight the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan in World War II, known as the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in China.
The September parade will be held at Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, where the Chinese Communist Party crushed pro-democracy protests in a bloody crackdown in 1989.
South Korea and China, former battlefield foes, have steadily worked together to improve relations in the military field.
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. (Yonhap)
