The United States has signalled its intention to end the suspension of major military exercises with South Korea, ramping up pressure on North Korea amid a deadlock in talks with Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons.

Analysts warned that a resumption of the drills, which the North views as rehearsals for invasion, could hurt denuclearisation talks.

Dr Graham Ong-Webb, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said it “risks creating the impression of military escalation” and worsens the trust deficit. North Korea will interpret the move as “the US going back on its word”, he added.

“North Korea has always approached denuclearisation in reciprocal terms. It believes that constructive actions have to be traded in order to ratchet down tensions. Now, if the US cannot halt its joint military exercises or show some broad predilection towards signing a peace treaty, Pyongyang will ask why should it denuclearise in a really meaningful way.”