Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, said China is being kept in the dark about the friendship between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin

Russia has supplied North Korea with more than 1 million barrels of oil since March, as a payment for weapons and troops sent to the war against Ukraine. According to an analysis of satellite imagery in a report published by a British-based nonprofit that uses high-tech to make data publicly available,

China is uneasy about North Korea's ties with Russia, fearing it may embolden Pyongyang against its interests amid regional tensions.

Within a decade, it is expected that China will have as many nuclear warheads deployed as the United States. Pentagon estimates suggest that Beijing will have 1,500 operable nuclear weapons by 2035.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is intensifying with new attacks and new concerns over the weapons being used by both sides. Vladimir Putin says Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable weapon is a response to Ukraine firing American weapons deeper into Russia for the first time.