But first, can China pull North Korea back from the brink? The North's ruling Worker's Party newspaper said today that the outbreak of nuclear war had now become a fait accompli, owing to the US and the South Korean puppet forces. It's more of a bombastic rhetoric coming out of Pyongyang in recent weeks, but accompanied as well by the movement of missile launchers. US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Beijing, urging China to restrain its troublesome neighbour and ally. In a moment, we'll hear from my colleague Dan Damon in the South Korean capital Seoul. But first, will China heed Mr Kerry's call for a tougher line? The BBC's Julian Marshall has been talking to Professor Wang Dong of Peking University.
This time around, I think, we have witnessed a lot of growing sentiment not only within the elites, but also among the general public - the dissatisfactions and the unhappiness and even the pure anger toward the North Korea's provocations. So I think those kind of change in the general public sentiment also will give the top leadership the confidence to take very strong measures to North Korea.
