So Far, So Secretive
It's good that the PRC is taking the nuclear tests seriously. But it is doing so in a typically opaque manner. Of course, this strategy is probably more acceptable to North Korea itself (note that the envoy is not even a current government official, but a retired minister - thus taking off the pressure of 'officaldom' in the PRC-DPRK talks.)
Most noticeably, China's attitude on sanctions remains ambivalent. It is correct to note that sanctions shouldn't just be a means to an end, because anything serious would trigger immediate collapse. However, the world knows that China is the only country with any influence over the situation, and it is beginning to become apparent that it is going to do nothing - even in the face of a UNSC resolution it itself supported.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China pressures N Korean leader
A Chinese envoy has met North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il as tensions mount over the North's nuclear test, according to Chinese officials.
The envoy, former Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, was believed to be carrying a message from China's President Hu Jintao calling for restraint...
China's Foreign Ministry warned on Thursday against "wilfully" expanding UN sanctions against North Korea.
"Sanctions are a signal, not a goal," spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference.
