North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test earlier this month, so we can be pretty certain that the UN Security Council will meet in the near future to discuss a new set of measures to be implemented to deal with the perennial “North Korean issue.”

There is little doubt that China essentially holds all the keys, so Beijing’s position will be decisive for both drafting the UN resolution and, more significantly, its eventual implementation. However, there is a very good reason to believe that, this time, unlike in 2013, North Korean hardliners should not take Chinese support for granted. The