Park underlines Seoul's pivot to China

South Korean President Park Geun-hye was the only East Asian leader to attend the military parade in Beijing on Thursday marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat. Park's decision to attend reflects South Korea's concerns about the security threat it faces from China's ally, totalitarian North Korea. But it also demonstrates the growing importance of Sino-South Korea ties, which have evolved dramatically during Park's presidency, with strategic implications beyond the Korean peninsula.

Trade and investment have boomed since August 1992, when the two countries established formal diplomatic relations. In 2013, the countries traded $274.3 billion worth of goods and services -- more trade than South Korea conducted with the US and Japan combined. Last year, more than 4 million Chinese tourists visited South Korea, bringing in billions of dollars worth of foreign exchange. South Korea's investment in China has been rising as a proportion of total foreign investment since tensions between Beijing and Tokyo began to rise in 2011.

The growing friendship between Seoul and Beijing is beginning to have strategic significance beyond the Korean peninsula. As a major US ally in Northeast Asia, South Korea is seen by Washington as a bulwark against any renewed threats from North Korea.

Ahead of the Chinese parade, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter reiterated that North Korea could never win a war against US-led allied forces. But the US remains deeply concerned about the threat posed by North Korean nuclear weapons and the unpredictability of Kim Jong Un, the country's tyrannical leader.

Park's visit to China was based on four strategic considerations. First, she wanted to strengthen personal ties with President Xi Jinping, who has now met with her six times. Park's ability to speak Putonghua, China's official national language, has helped to deepen a rapport with Xi that serves as an anchor between the two countries, which share an underlying tradition of Confucianism. Park's relationship with Xi increases her political clout both at home and in the rest of East Asia.

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