China has a difficult choice: act firmly and materially by reducing aid and upset and possibly destabilise North Korea that may lead to a reunified Korea facing the West. Or act softly and North Korea goes merrily on its own sweet way as it has done for decades; and may be the cause of an intentional or inadvertent nuclear war. The world and esp the US will be watching carefully.
Reuters: “North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of existing U.N. resolutions, drawing condemnation from around the world, including from its only major ally, China, which summoned the North Korean ambassador to protest.
The reclusive North said the test was an act of self-defense against “U.S. hostility” and threatened further, stronger steps if necessary.
It said the test had “greater explosive force” than the 2006 and 2009 tests. Its KCNA news agency said it had used a “miniaturized” and lighter nuclear device, indicating that it had again used plutonium which is more suitable for use as a missile warhead.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the third of his line to rule the country, has presided over two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear test during his first year in power, pursuing policies that have propelled his impoverished and malnourished country closer to becoming a nuclear weapons power.
China, which has shown signs of increasing exasperation with the recent bellicose tone of its neighbor, summoned the North Korean ambassador in Beijing and protested sternly, the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said China was “strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed” to the test and urged North Korea to “stop any rhetoric or acts that could worsen situations and return to the right course of dialogue and consultation as soon as possible”.
China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.”
via China joins U.S., Japan in condemning North Korea nuclear test | Reuters.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 