[far-east] north korea looking down the barrel

North Korea can have a future or it can have nuclear weapons but "it cannot have both", the US said, as staunch ally China warned "no one is going to protect" the regime should it go ahead with atomic tests. Beijing's ominous caution breaks a longstanding policy of avoiding criticism of Pyongyang, and leaves the Stalinist state without the support of its sole powerful friend. "I think if North Koreans do have the nuclear test, I think that they have to realise that they will face serious consequences," China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, said. The rebuke spells trouble for North Korea, which faces a relatively united front against its nuclear aspirations, in sharp contrast to the fractured reaction to a series of missile tests in July. At that time, China accused Japan of overreacting in calling for sanctions. We’ve said a lot of hard things about China but this is a positive at last. Please read l’Ombre’s piece on Korea today if you haven’t already done so.