It appears that China and Russia are about to commit the grievous sin that most novice parents commit, the empty threat. If you don’t back up your threats the child will not be afraid to act in the future:

Russia and China on Thursday opposed tough sanctions the U.S. wants to impose against North Korea this week for its claimed nuclear test, saying they want more time to work out a more moderate response to Pyongyang’s nuclear brinkmanship.
The United States and Japan, which has already imposed tough unilateral sanctions on the North to protest the reported test Monday, had initially hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote on Thursday. But if Washington wants to get China and Russia – the two council nations closest to Pyongyang – on board, a vote could be delayed until early next week.
China, the North’s closest ally, opposes any mention of the U.N. Charter’s Chapter 7, which authorizes punishments including economic sanctions, naval blockades and military actions. China and Russia want to see sanctions focus primarily on reining in North Korea’s nuclear and weapons programs.
Beijing and Moscow also object to the wide scope of financial sanctions and a provision authorizing the inspection of cargo going in and out of North Korea, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are private. There is concern among some diplomats that boarding North Korean ships could lead to a military response from the North.

If I were Japan, I would be telling China and Russia that if they didn’t sign on, then I would start a nuclear arms race of my own and would no doubt have a working bomb quicker than North Korea (because we actually feed our scientists).
And I’m sure that China doesn’t think that Bush started anything by calling North Korea part of the axis of evil, they are just trying to shift the focus off their back pedaling and bad parenting skills:

Without naming the United States, Churkin appeared to take aim at the tough U.S. policy toward Pyongyang and President Bush’s inclusion of North Korea in the so-called “axis of evil.”
“This resolution would be a very strong statement from the Security Council,” Churkin said. “And we know that in this problem, in this part of the world, some strong statements made by others than the Security Council have hurt the entire thing – and have aggravated matters. So we do not want to repeat this on the level of the Security Council.”