SEOUL, Aug 21: US and South Korean troops began military drills on Monday that are likely to increase regional tensions already high due to the North’s July 5 missile launches and reports it is preparing for a nuclear test.

The North has branded them a prelude to invasion and nuclear war, vowing to boost its own nuclear deterrent in response.

Some are wondering if North Korea may use this year’s drills as an excuse to step up preparations for a nuclear test.

Analysts said North Korea could be trying an extreme form of sabre-rattling by giving signs of a possible test in the hope of forcing the international community, Washington in particular, into making concessions to the poor and isolated state.

“(The joint military exercises) are an unacceptable military provocation that drives the situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of a war,” Pyongyang’s state broadcasting said on Monday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News. “They are tantamount to a declaration of war against our people.”—Reuters