The United States is calling for a tough response to North Korea’s launch this week of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and one key country Washington and others are looking to for help is China, particularly as the U.S. seeks to draw up new and tighter sanctions.

Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said sanctions may make the West feel good but are unlikely to change North Korea’s behavior because they do not impact the elite.

“Kim and the top one percent of the North Korean hierarchy have ways to get around sanctions and make sure that they stay in that comfortable lifestyle,” he said. “We are past the point where the North Koreans will give up their nuclear weapons and missile systems.”