North Korea represents an almost perfect international crisis. It is a closed state with a leadership hell-bent on maintaining power, at any cost. Its nuclear program, which has been in development since the 1990s, is seen as the ultimate guarantor of this power.

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“China does not want to see a preemptive strike or military conflict between the US and North Korea. Given China’s escalating frustration with North Korea […] China is taking measures to press North Korea to refrain from further provocation and return to negotiations. This is indeed partially motivated by the concern about potential U.S. military actions, but at least equally so by its desire to contain the North Korean provocation,” says Yun Sun, an expert on China-U.S. relations at the Stimson Center.

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