China and Russia have begun a computer-simulated anti-missile exercise in Beijing as the two nations step up preparations against the North Korea nuclear threat.

The drills were also aimed at countering the US alliances that are building in the region because of the missile threat from North Korea, according to Collin Koh, a military expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Ben Ho, a security analyst at Nanyang Technological University, said it was no coincidence that China and Russia were holding joint military drills at the same time as the US-led exercise.

“The exercise aims to signal to the US that Russia and China, too, have a key role to play in countering the regional missile threat,” Ho said.