North Korea’s neighbours on Friday found themselves in a bind as they mulled how to deal with Pyongyang’s sudden declaration that not only had they manufactured nuclear weapons but they were withdrawing from multilateral talks as well.

With the US effectively out of verbal ammunition for dealing with North Korea, the spotlight is now falling on China. As Pyongyang’s closest ally and its biggest supplier of vital commodities, Beijing has the greatest scope to put pressure on Kim Jong-il’s regime to back down.