Few breakthroughs have been made since the first round of six - nation talks on North Korea ’ s nuclear weapons program was held in Beijing in August 2003 . If any significant agreements were made during those seven long years , it did not take long before they were thrown out of the window . Primarily responsible for the lack of progress was North Korea , which conducted nuclear tests as the multilateral talks muddled through . If there was any country that could force North Korea to behave itself , it definitely was China , which is its sole military ally . But it took no action . China , when asked to do something , maintained that there was a limit to what could be done against the wayward communist neighbor . As China continued to play host to the unproductive talks , North Korea was assumed to have stockpiled a multiple number of nuclear warheads . China ’ s opposition to North Korea ’ s nuclear armament was unquestionable . But it had no one else but itself to blame if any other participant wondered aloud if it really wanted a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons . Now subtle signs of change in China ’ s attitude are observed in the remarks of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao , who was quoted as saying last week that his government would not seek to hold the nuclear talks for the sake of the talks . In Hanoi , he agreed with South Korean President Lee Myung - bak and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to take time in holding the next round of talks until progress in nuclear negotiations is seen to be within reach . At the moment , it may not be easy to determine what message the Chinese premier meant to deliver to North Korea as well as other participants when he made the remarks . But it is only absurd for nuclear negotiators to gather in Beijing when they are convinced that nothing will come out of the talks .