South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin last week described North Korea as a “clear and present danger”. 

This followed Kim Jong Un’s frequent missile tests and repeated warnings that he would consider using tactical nuclear weapons.

“What North Korea is doing is completely wrong,” Park told CNN in an exclusive interview. He added: “They have been escalating nuclear and missile threats, and threatening the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.”

Western-leaning analysts have however raised concern about the role played by China and Russia in Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches.

Previously the United States accused Russia and China of providing "blanket protection" to North Korea from further U.N. Security Council action and said the pair had "bent over backwards" to justify ballistic missile launches by North Korea.

"You don't get to abandon Security Council responsibilities because North Korea might sell you weapons to fuel your war of aggression in Ukraine, or because you think they make a good regional buffer to the United States," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council, referring to Russia and China.

Although North Korea reached an all-time high in its missile provocations last year, China is accused of abandoning its responsibility as a member of the Security Council and openly supporting North Korea, voluntarily playing its guardian role. 

Moreover, China, along with Russia, has aided and abetted North Korea's provocations by rejecting the adoption of a new resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea and continued to neglect the loopholes in sanctions, escalating the security instability on the Korean Peninsula. 

China is also ignoring the international community's call for the use of its influence to persuade North Korea to return to the negotiation table for 

denuclearization, even though it is more than capable of implementing various means to deter the North. 

Given its strategic competition with the United States, China's actions stem from an outdated Cold War mentality and belief that a nuclear-armed North Korea is better than a collapsed North Korea. 

North Korea, on the other hand, is relying on its inter-dependency with China to advance its nuclear weapons and missiles, and use China as a "security insurance" to shield itself against global sanctions. 

If China continues to defend North Korea, it would be facing serious consequences such as the loss of its status as a responsible member of the G2 and P5 and the spread of "China threat theory" following the "Wolf-warrior diplomacy". 

China can no longer use North Korea's provocations as a "leverage" against the US. Rather, the provocations would only deepen security dilemmas and further isolate China, as they would strengthen the ROK-US-Japan military cooperation and fuel the possibility of deploying additional US strategic weapons. 

Therefore, China needs to stop its efforts to achieve hegemony that would only fulfill its national interests, and play a constructive role in North Korea-related issues to better position itself as a "respected global power". 

China should no longer tolerate North Korea's nuclear advancement activities. At the same time, it should lead the international community to punish the North Korea in such cases. It is time for China to teach North Korea a lesson for its strategic use of China, which undermines China's national interests. 

Another available option is encouraging China to reverse its thinking to adopt a cooperative attitude regarding North Korea issues and open up a room for negotiation with the US on its key interests such as the conflict over the Taiwan Strait. 

The international community should also take action and form an alliance, pressuring China to use its influence over North Korea and firmly abide by the global sanctions against the North, and urging it to revise its pro-North Korea policies.