International calls for North Korea to abandon its plan to conduct a third nuclear test increased today, with rumors that China may be about to dispatch an envoy to Pyongyang bolstered in part by a Chinese editorial suggesting that Beijing may cut aid to North Korea if it goes ahead with plans to test.

An anonymous diplomatic source today told Yonhap News that "China is looking into a wide range of measures to stop North Korea from conducting a nuclear test...those measures include sending a delegation to North Korea." That would be consistent with comments from China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, who yesterday said that Beijing "opposes any actions that could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula or adversely affect denuclearization."