By Neal Baker, Tom Gillespie and Mark Hodge
Kim Jong-un has already threatened weekly tests of missile launches, with relations becoming increasingly strained. So are these signs of an outbreak of World War 3?
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4 Donald Trump’s attack on the Syrian regime could be viewed as a direct affront to Moscow
4 Russia is a key Syria ally and global nuclear power – so could Putin retaliate and spark World War Three?
Could World War Three happen?
Tensions between US, Russia, China and North Korea are increasing.
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and 24 ballistic missile tests in 2016 alone, defying six UN Security Council resolutions banning any testing.
And it has conducted additional missile tests on 2017 – including one that failed when the missile blew up soon after launching.
But the secretive country has shown no signs of slowing down, warning that it is ready for “full out war”.
It has even warned that it would be a “piece of cake” to nuke Japan – and that anyone supporting their detractors would also be in the firing line.
The hermit state has threatened that “nuclear war could break out at any moment”, but most experts believe it would not launch an attack as it would not survive a revenge strike by the US.
Donald Trump launches Tomahawk missiles at Al-Shayrat Air Base after Syria 'gas' strike
President Trump is said to be bolstering American deployment in the region by sending the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Nimitz to the Sea of Japan next week.
He has already dispatched the USS Carl Vinson, powered by nuclear reactors, carrying almost 100 aircraft and accompanied by destroyers, a cruiser, and a submarine to the area.
Russia, along with China, is said to have sent a spy ship to the area to ward off the task force amid rising tensions in the region.
There was a time when it seemed like the prospect of war with the likes of Russia and China had disappeared with the end of the Cold War.
But tense relationships between the world's major military players means that the outbreak of another global conflict has been raised again.
4 Kim Jong-un has vowed to take on the US
If World War Three does kick off how could it start?
Russia and America's involvement in the war in Syria has created a situation where the two nations' planes are reportedly flying dangerously close to each other on bombing runs.
If World War Three does kick off it seems the Russians could have something to do with it but it is more likely that if it ever did happen, it would be sparked hundreds of miles away from Syria.
North Korea has warned "nuclear war could break out at any moment", as US warships move into the Korean Peninsula but experts have said it is unlikely the hermit state would engage with the more powerful US.
Professor Paul D Miller of the National Defence University in Washington DC — who predicted the invasion of Crimea and the Ukraine conflict — said the Baltic state is next on Russia's hit list.
But Putin won't use conventional troops. Instead, he will recreate what happened in Ukraine and stir up the patriotism of ethnic Russians in the country.
"Putin will instigate an ambiguous militarised crisis using deniable proxies, probably in the next two years", he said.
4 A missile is driven past the Kim Jong-un during a military parade in Pyongyang
Who would win the war?
This is an impossible question to answer with any certainty, but if you are basing it solely on hardware it would seem the US is in the best position to win.
The US is the only country in possession of fifth-gen fighter jets - 187 F-22s and an F-35 that is not yet out of the testing phase.
Russia is developing one stealth fighter and China is working on four.
In terms of submarines the US Navy has 14 ballistic missile submarines with a combined 280 nuclear missiles.
They also possess four guided missile submarines with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each and 54 nuclear attack submarines.
Russia has only 60 submarines but they are said to have outstanding stealth capabilities.
They are also developing a 100-megaton nuclear torpedo.
China has five nuclear attack submarines, 53 diesel attack submarines, and four nuclear ballistic missile submarines to date.
However, the emerging superpower is developing more.
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