Experts on North Korea report that the communist nation may be nearing the use of nuclear warheads on missiles as China warns against further nuclear testing.

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to carry out a fourth nuclear test, official sources say. Experts believe that though this may just be a show of force, Kim Jong-un may also be closer than previously believed to putting a nuclear warhead on a missile, according to Reuters.

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This would be running in direct violation of years of United Nations sanctions intended to prohibit such developments and spurred direct diplomatic warnings from China on Monday, strongly in opposition against further tests, Reuters reports.

South Korean nuclear experts fear that North Korean claims of advancements in nuclear warhead technology may be true. This, following last year's three nuclear tests and repeated threats of a fourth as well as reports of China's strong warnings against it, indicating Chinese officials may know more exactly how close North Korea is to another test.

The exact extent of North Korea's nuclear capabilities has long been unknown to the general public however, as any public statements made by the country are likely to be colored by propaganda intended to bolster the country's claims to combat superiority.

Kim Tae-woo, former head of the southern state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, warns that the field deployment of a nuclear missile may be imminent according to new intelligence reports.

China, formerly the closest ally to North Korea, has been distancing itself from the state by intermittently suspending crude oil supplies this year and reducing food exports and visa issuances.

Between January and March, there were no crude oil shipments made between China and North Korea, a first in 5 years that China suspended shipments for three consecutive months.

The US and UK equally have been pressuring North Korean authorities to

Meanwhile, Russian relations with North Korea have been steadily warming up since the sanctions taken against North Korea blocking bank transactions, military and technical assistance in December last year.

Yuri Trutnev, the deputy prime minister of Russia, and North Korea's Foreign Trade minister entered into a new trade agreement last week, ensuring economic cooperation, during Trutnev's three day visit to North Korean capital Pyongyang. These diplomatic actions come at a time where threats of international action against North Korea is at an all-time high, leading analysts to question Russian motives.

This despite assurances by US authorities such as by Ambassador Glyn Davies, special representative for North Korean affairs with the State Department, that the US, Russia and China constitute a "united front" against North Korean interests.

This follows a drastic realignment of foreign policies on Russia's part, starting with the handling of the Ukrainian revolution and the Crimean conflict. The readiness of Russia to take part in armed conflict and expansion as well as bold statements by president Vladimir Putin, a former communist sympathiser and intelligence officer, suggests an aggression not seen since the Cold War.

Political analysts have long regarded Putin's policies to be indicative of a return to Soviet-era militarism with pundits referring to the president as the "new tsar" of Russia, with the military actions in the Ukraine and Crimea seen as the latest step toward authoritarianism. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Russia is now financially coming to the aid of the totalitarian state of North Korea as the country faces increased pressure from the West to relinquish nuclear armament development.

This whereas the current leader of China, Xi Jinping, is moving the country toward a more free-market economy and expelling corruption out of the leading Chinese Communist Party.

Sino-Russian relations have steadily been improving in spite of these differences, but it is unclear how their mutual relations stand with regards to North Korea.

TagsNuke-tipped missile, Nuclear warheads, North Korea, Russia, Military, Communism, Chinese Communist Party