The rite of return of Chinese soldiers' remains by South Korea may not be adequate to ease the tensions between the two countries, and the ties of the two sides won't be changed by South Korea's "little good gestures," a Chinese expert said.
South Korean media Yonhap News Agency said on Wednesday that the rite of South Korea to return the remains of Chinese soldiers to China may serve to sooth the tense relationship between the two countries caused by the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
This ritual is unlikely to change the relationship between the two countries, Li Kaisheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Li added that it is merely a humanitarian activity between the two countries.
China's firm opposition to THAAD will not change regardless of South Korea's "small goodwill gestures," said Li.
During an official visit to China late in 2013, South Korean President Park Guen-hye offered to return the remains of Chinese soldiers to China.
South Korea and China held a rite in March 2014 of placing the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers killed during the three-year civil conflict between the two Koreas, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The ritual continues this year, according to Yonhap. Remains of some 20 Chinese soldiers will be returned to China at the end of March.
