North Korea announced it will deport an American citizen it detained one month ago for illegally entering the country.

The Korean Central News Agency confirmed the man's identity as Bruce Byron Lowrance from Michigan.

Today’s announcement suggests that North Korea still intends to improve ties with the United States despite stalled nuclear diplomacy.

Bruce Byron Lowrance has been held in North Korea for a month after illegally entering the country from China. (AAP)

In the past, North Korean often held American citizens it arrested for similar charges for months before high-profile US figures travelled to Pyongyang to secure their freedom.

In May, North Korea released three American detainees in a goodwill gesture weeks before leader Kim Jong Un’s summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.

The three Americans returned home on a flight with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Their release was a striking contrast to the fate of Otto Warmbier, an American university student who died days after he was released from North Korea in a coma after spending 17 months in captivity.

Today, the Korean Central News Agency said Mr Lowrance was detained on October 16 for illegally entering the country from China.