And it is feared the move could outrage tyrannical despot Kim Jong-Un who could launch a deadly nuclear strike at any time.
South Korea and China have agreed to disagree in a bid to get relations back on track following a year-long standoff after the US installed an anti-missile system in South Korea.
Beijing announced it would end the unofficial economic blockade against its neighbour – although officials said its position on the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system had not changed.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a joint statement: “The two sides attached great importance to the Korea-China relationship and decided to push for the further development of the strategic co-operative partnership.”
The installation of the THAAD system enraged Chinese officials, who believe the platform’s powerful radar compromises its own missile deterrent.
Authorities quickly responded by launching the year-long economic war against Seoul – forcing citizens to boycott South Korean companies.
Chinese tour groups were also stopped from visiting South Korea and the consumer ban on brands such as Hyundai led to the collapse in sales in the car manufacturer’s largest market.
But the two countries have agreed to relax the blockade in a bid for peace in the region.
Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said: “In appearance it looks like a mutual compromise but in substance, I have to say that this is China’s unilateral concession to South Korea.
And he added that for China a “relationship as important as the one with South Korea cannot be hostage to this one issue which cannot be solved”.
The agreement is a positive move for relations in the region, however it is likely to spark a fire under North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un – who viewed China as its only ally in his self-inflicted war of words with the South Korea “puppet force” and the US.
Bong Young-shik, an expert on regional relations at South Korea’s Yonsei University, said: “China’s economic retaliation only pushed Korea closer into the trilateral alliance between Japan and the US.
Mr Pollack said Kim could make good on his promise earlier this summer to launch “the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific”.
This would most likely be the ‘Juche Bird’ H-bomb – the most powerful weapon North Korea possesses.
South Korea and China agreed that President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet for a summit next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] meeting in Vietnam.
The summit between Moon and Xi will be the second since Moon took office in May following their first meeting in July on the sidelines of the G20.
China seems to be moving ever further from its former North Korean ally after a series of cautions and warnings were issued y Beijing to Pyongyang.
Yesterday, Chinese experts warned a deadly radioactive could engulf the “entire hemisphere” killing thousands if North Korea’s nuclear facility collapses following its recent test launch.
A researcher at the country’s Peking University, said: “China cannot sit and wait until the site implodes.
“Our instruments can detect nuclear fallout when it arrives, but it will be too late by then.”
Lan Xiaoqing, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics Associate, said: “The fallout can spread to an entire hemisphere.”