Earlier this month, China voiced its unhappiness with North Korea for firing four Scud missiles into the Sea of Japan. Beijing had suspended all coal imports from its neighbor earlier in February. Pyongyang responded by accusing Beijing of "dancing to the tune of the U.S." This was not the first time North Korea had thumbed its nose at China. However, Beijing was in for a surprise when several Chinese strategic affairs experts went up in arms and demanded that China "abandon" North Korea.

In recent times, neither escalating tensions in Sino-Japanese ties nor uncertainties in Sino-U.S. bilateral relations have been the focus for the Chinese. Instead, public opinion has centered on "Fatty Kim the Third" — as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unflatteringly called in the unofficial and social media in China — making for a debate fraught with controversy and confusion. To its utter dismay, however, the party-state in Beijing is completely at a loss today in coming to grips with the North Korea problem.

Currently, there are three schools of thought dominating the discourse on Sino-North Korean relations in China's strategic affairs community. First, there are scholars who uphold the view that North Korea remains ideologically and geopolitically crucial for China, for two reasons. One, by maintaining solid ties with North Korea China will not be alone and isolated in the game the United States, Japan and South Korea are playing in the Korean Peninsula.