China, the US, S. Korea and Japan are all bound together economically at this point and NK isn't good for business for any of us. China, being NK's biggest economic ally could quickly end this.
I keep hoping that China will summon lil Kim to Beijing and tell him to stop this foolishness. China enjoys the buffer of NK so "enemy" combatants aren't on their border However, NK has destabilized the region so much that any conflict as others have eluded to, could cause a nuclear exchange in which China would also be all but guaranteed to have fallout even if they were not directly involved.
"Look Lil Kim, we don't care if you starve your people and rape your women. Honestly, we really don't care about your human rights violations. We don't want SK or US troops on our border. We don't want millions of NK civilians trying to cross our border. We don't want to lose business because Japanese, South Korean or US companies either no longer exist or pull out because of your actions. If you don't straighten up, shut up, and quit threatening everyone, we're going to send in 500,000 troops and feed you to the dogs. Understood?"