Beijing (CNN) -- If the latest U.S. intelligence reports are true then North Korea is planning to test-fire not one but multiple missiles, the latest provocative act by its unpredictable young leader. While the region has become used to the posturing from Pyongyang, the recent wave of rhetoric has been unusually sustained and virulent, leading some analysts to consider the possibility of an armed confrontation between the two Koreas -- the neighbors remain technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. So far Kim Jong Un has refused to listen to the international community, leaving many to wonder if anyone can appeal to the leader, thought to be 30 years old, and defuse the crisis. All eyes are turned on China.
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New intelligence reports suggest North Korea planning multiple missile launch
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Traditional ally China increasingly irritated by regime under Kim Jong Un
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President Xi Jinping: No country should be allowed to throw region into chaos
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Analysts believe Kim is under pressure to justify his position at home
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