South Korean President Park Geun-hye is expected to visit China in June, following her trip to the US in early May. As tensions around North Korea continue to escalate, discussions on regional affairs are expected to be on the agenda.

But before her visit, there has been wide speculation on South Korea's stance toward the world's two largest powers, China and the US.

The South's alliance with the US has been the pillar of its strategy, and this will also be the case in the future, especially given the increasing threat from North Korea. While the US-South Korea alliance will be maintained, there are a lot of pending issues.

For example, South Korea wants to utilize its nuclear power plants as its main energy source. But under the current US-South Korea nuclear accords, it cannot produce uranium enrichment. The South Korean government does not intend to develop nuclear weapons, but it wants the right to enrich uranium.

Currently, South Korea has to import uranium from the US or Europe, which costs a lot of money. But Washington worries about the potential use of nuclear weapons by the South Korean government. Meanwhile, because of the fiscal problems facing the US, Washington has asked Seoul to share the financial burden of defense expenditure on the US forces based in South Korea.

Realistically, the US-South Korean alliance will be the South's main source of stability in this region, and it is also a source of leverage on China.

China believes that the US is trying to contain it. To do so, the US utilizes alliances, including those with Japan and South Korea.

South Korea can be utilized to serve US interests. But such leverage can be a burden for South Korea as well and may also create tension with China, so South Korea shouldn't rely on it too much.

Park's new government tries to pursue a balanced diplomacy between China and the US.

If North Korea continues to threaten South Korea, then the South has to realistically rely on US defense to protect itself from North Korea's threat, which means there will be increasing influence by the US. This makes it more difficult for the South Korean government to improve the strategic partnership with China.

China has become an important partner for South Korea, not only economically, but in other areas as well. For example, in the security area, because of China's influence over North Korea, South Korea and China share a lot of common interests.

And both South Korea and China face nationalistic moves by the Japanese government. South Korea understands that China has broader interests as a big country. There are many ways South Korea can be closer to China, especially in dealing with the North Korean issue.

Recently, public opinion in China has become critical about North Korea. The Chinese government is trying to improve relations with South Korea.

The North Korean issue is a common threat to both South Korea and China. In fact, the goals of South Korea and China regarding North Korea are not much different. Both pursue peace in the Korean Peninsula. South Korea does not want to see the collapse of the North Korean regime, because it would be a disaster for the South Korean government.

And both would like to see denuclearization of North Korea. If China can play a constructive role in cooling down the crisis facing South Korea, South Korea and its people will appreciate this.

The recent moves by the Chinese government, such as the participation in sanctions on North Korea, are sending signals that offer room for improvement of South Korea-China relations.

As for the South Korean part, the government needs to obtain cooperation or at least concessions from China, one of which might be China's promise of a firm stance in dealing with the North, in order to see a calmer peninsula. This is China's political leverage on South Korea.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Wang Wenwen based on an interview with Lee Nae Young, director of the Asiatic Research Institute of Korea University. wangwenwen@globaltimes.com.cn