Unification Minister Kwon Young-se of South Korea recently rejected the notion of balancing diplomacy between the United States and China. He compared this mindset to the fate of the Bat in Aesop’s Fable, abandoned by both sides and therefore doomed. Kwon serves in the executive department responsible for inter-Korean affairs and promoting peace and unification. He was appointed to the post by President Yoon Suk-yeol in April of last year. Kwon is a former ambassador to China and a widely-known confidant of President Yoon. The recent state visit of Yoon to the United States resulted in the signing of the Washington Declaration, outlining a set of U.S. extended deterrence measures on the Korean Peninsula. Chinese state media collectively denounced the declaration, and Chinese retaliation was warned if South Korea disregards such warnings. With renewed trust between South Korea and the U.S., Kwon emphasized the need for improved relations with China amid unsettled U.S.-China rivalry.