North Korea launches ballistic missile across northern Japan, falls into sea

[Thumpalumpacus]

The only thing the Chinese can do to stop him would be to invade and occupy his country.

Don't you think tighter trade sanctions -- say, not buying any DPRK coal, or not selling it any oil -- would if not stop the regime's shittery at least reduce its brinksmanship?

But If china does that Kim can fire a nuke at Beijing or Shanghai even more easily than he can hit Guam.   China is not going to trade one of its own cities to make it easier for America to uphold its influence in China's own backdoor.   Also the Chinese are pleased North Korea is making a fool of trump just as trump is threatening to tear up the basis of trade between china and the US, and the Chinese are also pleased it is the North Korean people who are bearing the burden of and being impoverished to keep American forces away from Chinese border, and not the Chinese economy and people who have to bear much of that burden.

All good points. No doubt Un is playing one side against the other in these sorts of tantrums.

Their pet dictator gives china all the benefit of tying trump into a geopolitical pretzel without it looking like it is china that is trying to tie American into a geopolitical pretzel.

... which has long been their modus operandi.