The South Korean president is warming up to her Chinese counterpart. The international community is making requests of China to take a firmer stance. Even human rights reports mention China’s repatriation policy.

It would seem there is an underlying assumption behind all of these events: that China can change North Korean behavior, that it’s lack of support would be the end of the Kim regime, or at least cause it to favor the South. However, a survey of Chinese experts finds that they don’t believe China a) can make the North Koreans change course, or b) would like to see