(Image source: USA Today )     BY ZACH TOOMBS     China is sticking by its isolated ally North Korea after the nation drew international anger with another nuclear test this week. But the incident could be helping to drive a wedge between the two communist states.   North Korea’s recent nuclear test and a rocket launch earlier this year both violated U.N. regulations — a line Kim Jong-Un has been willing to cross even more frequently than his late father. [Video: RT ]   But any significant punishment from the United Nations relies on the support of China — something the Communist Party there has been unwilling to give, as it sees North Korea as a buffer to U.S. influence in South Korea. [Video: YouTube ]   North Korea has continued pouring resources into military spending and nuclear development — even as the nation’s own people starve. The Christian Science Monitor writes China has urged cautious responses from both North Korea and the West after this week’s nuclear tests.   “...[China] will water [sanctions] down while going along just enough to maintain its pretense as a responsible international player. We can be reasonably certain ... Beijing will not exercise its unique leverage as North Korea’s main supplier of fuel and food.”   And the BBC’s Dateline London panelists say China might also be concerned about refugees coming from North Korea should the nation fail.   “The principal responsibility for this lies not with the U.S., for once, but with China. China is in a position to do something about it, but they’re afraid of the collapse of North Korea.”   Despite a history of close relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, incoming Chinese president Xi Jinping could bring a new mindset to dealing with North Korea. The New York Times quotes Zhu Feng, a well-known professor at China’s Peking University, saying:   “One nuclear test will not make China’s new administration decide to ‘abandon North Korea’ but it will definitely worsen China-North Korea relations … North Korea’s nuclear test will make the new Xi Jinping administration angry, and give China a headache.”