South Korea will send two warships to an international fleet review in China, an official at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing said Monday.

About 30 warships from 10 nations, including China, Australia, India and Pakistan, will join the fleet review to be held in China's eastern port city of Qingdao next week, the official said.

South Korea will send a 4,500-ton destroyer and a 2,300-ton frigate to the naval ceremony, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the parade of warships, according to the official.

The U.S. decided not to send a warship to the naval ceremony after learning Japan was not invited. But, Washington officials will observe the fleet review, according to the South Korean official.

China's defense ministry said it did not invite North Korea to the event because the North is not a member of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), of which the parade is a part.

North Korea "is not a member state of the WPNS, so we didn't ask North Korea to attend the symposium and relevant events,"

China's defense ministry said in a faxed statement to Yonhap News Agency. (Yonhap)