A couple examples of diplomatic activity, involving the leader of the Foggy Bottom Boys of the State Dept., and everybody’s favorite ChiComs:
China reportedly won a pledge from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il not to conduct another nuclear test and at the same time blocked bank transfers to the isolated state.
Are they serious? Time will tell. They certainly have the POTENTIAL to get the NorK Beloved Leader’s attention. Meanwhile…
“In this entire 30-year history of the North Korean nuclear program, this is the first time that the international system has been able to actually impose a cost on North Korea for its nuclear behavior,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. “It’s able to impose that cost because China has been brought into the process in a way that China never was before,” she said after meetings with President Hu Jintao and other senior leaders.
You can believe as much of that about/from the ChiComs as you want to, but the Chief is highly skeptical how this will actually end up.