South Korea and the United States are reportedly considering resuming joint drills that involve nuclear-capable bombers, exercises that have been suspended for about five years under the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration.    

According to a number of government sources on Wednesday, the allies agreed on the need for a corresponding measure to the North's threatened intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) launch.

The Blue Lightning exercise involves the deployment of B-52H or B-1B bombers from the U.S. Air Force's Andersen Base in Guam to the Korean Peninsula. Fighters from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are also mobilized to escort the long-range strategic bombers.

The U.S. had previously planned the drills with South Korea in May 2018. But it ultimately conducted them alone near the peninsula, given Seoul's concerns they could escalate tensions ahead of the historic Singapore Summit the following month.

The U.S. has been ramping up its deterrence operations this week, in light of signs North Korea is preparing for a test of its new ICBM missile. Its military flew a F-35C stealth fighter over the Yellow Sea as part of a carrier-based air demonstration and strengthened its missile interception exercise.

Seoul, for its part, is reportedly considering a unilateral exercise involving Hyunmoo ballistic missiles and other weapons systems.