Yet Beijing has also resisted imposing tough sanctions on the North, such as a ban on oil shipments. More than anything, China wants to maintain the status quo on the Korean Peninsula. This poses a dilemma for Chinese leaders as the Kim Jong Un regime grows increasingly unpredictable -- and, perhaps, uncontrollable.
Losing face
"We hope [North Korea] will exercise restraint and caution," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters on Wednesday. "It must not act in a manner that may further increase tensions on the peninsula."
Wu Dawei, China's special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, has been in North Korea since Tuesday. Lu said Wu would "exchange views" on the situation; he did not divulge what action the diplomat might take, nor whom he might meet.
Sources said China decided to dispatch Wu after he met with Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy at the U.S. State Department, in Beijing on Jan. 29. At the time, there were already indications of a looming rocket launch. The trip may have been an attempt to dissuade Pyongyang from going ahead with it.
But on Tuesday, after Wu arrived, North Korea notified the world of its intention to launch a satellite.
The big concern, particularly in light of North Korea's recent nuclear test, is that the same missile technology could be used to launch a nuclear warhead. The timing of Pyongyang's announcement was embarrassing for Wu, who is also chairman of the six-party talks on the North's nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea said it would launch the probe between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25. This would coincide with the Chinese New Year period, which begins on Feb. 8, and would just precede the National People's Congress, due to convene in Beijing on March 5.
A Chinese Communist Party official said North Korea no longer listens to Beijing.
No easy answers
"North Korea assumes that China cannot take hard-line measures against it," a diplomatic source in Beijing said.
It is no secret that China wants to avoid destabilizing the Kim regime and unleashing a flood of North Korean refugees. The Chinese government also sees North Korea as a useful buffer against U.S. forces stationed in South Korea.
North Korea could collapse if China goes along with American wishes and slaps tough penalties on its reclusive neighbor -- like cutting off oil supplies. This is why the Chinese government is so reluctant to put its foot down.
China has repeatedly called for resuming the six-party talks. But the last meeting was held in 2008, and North Korea has not shown a renewed willingness to participate.
Chinese leaders have also urged Washington to respond to Pyongyang's pleas for bilateral negotiations on a peace treaty, as well as a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. But the U.S. is unlikely to play ball during the ongoing presidential election campaign.
Lu stressed that China alone cannot be held responsible for North Korea's actions. "Countries concerned are jointly responsible for maintaining the stability of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said Wu offered flowers at the statues of deceased leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Wednesday. Meanwhile, as the international community scurries to figure out how to get Kim to change his ways, North Korea is pushing ahead with its weapons development.
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