Experts agree that the potential China-South Korea free trade agreement will not herald a change in how Beijing regards Pyongyang and Seoul.

It does, however, indicate how far the North’s stock has fallen in China’s eyes, as well as far the South as risen.

China is expected to continue to use its UN permanent member status to shield the North from punitive actions, including those recommended by the extensive UN report on North Korean human rights violations. Still, signs abound in the tension between the Korean War allies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping – in office less than a year and