SEOUL: South Korean and US troops began naval drills on Monday in a show of force partly directed at North Korea amid signs that Pyongyang will soon carry out a threat to conduct its third atomic test.

The region is also seeing a boost in diplomatic activity focused on North Korea's announcement last month that it will conduct a nuclear test to protest UN Security Council sanctions toughened after a December satellite launch that the US and others say was a disguised test of banned missile technology. Pyongyang's two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, both occurred after it was slapped with increased sanctions for similar rocket launches. As it issued its most recent punishment, the Security Council ordered North Korea to refrain from a nuclear test or face “significant action.”

North Korea's state media said on Sunday that at a high-level Workers' Party meeting, leader Kim Jong Un issued “important” guidelines meant to bolster the army and protect national sovereignty.—AP