I

t is noteworthy that an update on the progress of North Korea'€™s nuclear weapons program was revealed by Chinese nuclear experts.

The move was a clear signal that China, under the President Xi Jinping, is growing weary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his willingness to defy his country'€™s only ally and donor, which has urged him to stop '€œthe dangerous game'€.

Chinese officials have publicly expressed disappointment over the behavior of Kim Jong-un, and, to a certain extent, over the behavior of his father, the late Kim Jong-il.

China sees North Korea now more as a security threat to the region and it has to bear the twin burdens of being the sole donor and protector of a brutal regime.

Reuters quoted The Wall Street Journal, which reported Thursday that Chinese nuclear experts had warned that North Korea may already have 20 nuclear warheads and the capacity to produce enough weapons-grade uranium to double its arsenal by next year. To date, North Korea has conducted three nuclear detonations, the most recent in February 2013.

President Xi is still reportedly reluctant to receive Kim in Beijing, apparently to demonstrate his unhappiness with Kim'€™s policies, while Pyongyang is heavily dependent on China'€™s economic generosity.

Meanwhile, the Chinese leader has met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye several times, and relations between the two countries have gotten much closer over the last few years.

China realizes North Korea'€™s nuclear development will trigger a nuclear arms race among countries in East Asia, including Japan and South Korea, which feel threatened by the unpredictable Kim Jong-un.

It was just a matter of technicality and time for the two countries to join the club of nuclear weapons states.

Reuters earlier also wrote that South Korea and the US reached a deal on Wednesday (dependent on approval from both countries) to revise a 40-year-old civil nuclear pact that gives the Asian country limited freedom to produce fuel for power generation but continues to curb its ability to reprocess spent fuel.

The news agency also quoted the South Korean Foreign Ministry as revealing that the arrangement smoothes the way for Seoul to enrich uranium to produce non-weapons grade nuclear fuel under guidelines to be drawn up by the two countries, and also requires the US to ensure a stable supply of fuel for nuclear reactors.

'€œThe proposed agreement is one of the most sophisticated and dynamic peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements we'€™ve ever negotiated,'€ US Ambassdor to South Korea Mark Lippert said after officials of both countries initialed the agreement in Seoul.

The bilateral talks between Chinese President Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Jakarta on Wednesday were encouraging, as the two leaders were able to discuss a wide range of issues, including colonial-era bitterness and overlapping claims to small islands in the East China Sea.

Abe requested the meeting with the Chinese leader on the sidelines of the 60th anniversary of  the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta.

The two leaders'€™ meeting will at least function as a confidence-building measure, as apart from historical disputes, the two countries are also facing a much more dangerous and complicated conflict: The sovereignty dispute concerning the Senkaku islands (as they are known in Japan), or the Diaoyu (as they are known in China).

President Xi and Prime Minister Abe apparently were so occupied by their much-awaited summit that they apparently had no time to discuss the North Korean nuclear build-up on Wednesday. Japan has its own problems with Pyongyang, including on the unresolved abductions issues. It is also often used as the target of Pyongyang'€™s military show off, including missile-launch tests.

Japan and South Korea have decided not to be lured by the North'€™s offers for negotiations, as past experiences have shown they were blackmailed for huge amounts of economic aid while getting nothing in return.

South Korea and North Korea also sent delegations to the conference in Jakarta, though composed of lower-level officials. Kim Yong-nam, the country'€™s nominal head and the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People'€™s Assembly leads Pyongyang'€™s delegation. Deputy Prime Minister Hwang Woo-yea acted as chief of Seoul'€™s delegation at the summit.

Kim Yong-nam addressed the summit on Wednesday and defended his country'€™s stance on nuclear advancement. The South Korean delegation is scheduled to speak to the forum on Thursday, and they are unlikely to counter the rhetorical attacks from North.

The Kim Jong-un regime is growing more and more isolated, and China is the only party with enough influence and power to tame it.

But as China has clearly grown impatient with Pyongyang, this will leave the North Koreans virtually alone to confront the need to change their political system and put their country back on the map of civilized nations.

As long as Pyongyang shows no interest in slowing its nuclear program, regional neighbors will step up efforts to protect themselves from the threat of the North.
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The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.