South Korea plays boths ends to the middle?

I am not a huge fan of the current leadership in Seoul right now, and that partly comes about from reading about things such as this:

South Korea is planning to bolster its military cooperation with China, local media on Tuesday quoted the South Korean defense minister as saying, signaling a key shift in alliances in northeast Asia.

Although China is the last major ally of the South's rival, North Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun has in recent weeks stressed that his country should help balance the region _ implying a shift from Seoul's traditional alliance with the United States and Japan toward a neutral position among regional powers, which include China and Russia.

"We plan to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries, including developing South Korea-China military exchanges to a level that of South Korea-Japan," Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung was quoted as saying Monday by various media outlets.

I am not exactly sure what the leadership in Seoul is aiming for right now. Perhaps they hope to act as a bridge to China, or that good ties with China will help defend them against North Korean aggression. Part of me, however, wonders if the leftist tendencies of the current leadership are leading them to deliberately weaken their ties with the US. There are many possibilities, and not all are bad. The government of South Korea is what makes me suspicious though.

Hat Tip: Fjordman