The two-month-long field training exercise by the UNited States and South Korean lasted two months, following increased rhetoric from the North.

The drills were said to have infuriated Pyongyang who responded with further threats of action and talk of nuclear weapons.

The move to bring to an end the military exercise comes after an offer of informal talks by the South, in relation to the joint industrial zone, was ignored Pyongyang.

Officials say the drill is over but that the South Korean and US militaries will continue to watch out for potential provocations by the North, including a missile launch.

The North is still maintaining a number of missiles and missile launchers that were recently moved to its east coast in apparent preparation for a launch.

The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.