When South Korea’s president joined her Chinese counterpart at a military parade in Beijing in September the event was seen as one of her biggest achievements.
Park Geun-hye had presided over a steady strengthening of ties with China, South Korea’s dominant trading partner, even at the risk of upsetting the US, which guarantees her country’s security with its nuclear umbrella and 28,500 troops on the ground.
But the relationship has been cast into doubt by South Korea’s decision to discuss hosting a US-made missile defence system. China’s ambassador to Seoul warned last week that the bilateral relationship could be “destroyed in an instant” if a deployment went ahead.
Seoul hit back at China’s pressure, summoning the ambassador and protesting at his outburst. Ms Park’s office pointedly remarked that China “had better recognise” that Seoul would make the missile shield decision in line with its own national security interests.