An op-ed in North Korea’s leading state-run newspaper has lavished praise on US president Donald Trump, while blaming a deadlock in peace talks on what it calls a “political scramble” in Washington.

The article in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper described Mr Trump’s handshake with Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June as “the greatest event in the present century”, but said progress from the summit risked falling “victim” to political opposition in the US.

Mr Trump has himself previously referred to domestic challenges - including the investigation into possible collusion with Russia over the 2016 election - as a distraction from his efforts to make peace with North Korea.

And experts said the editorial appeared designed to manipulate Mr Trump by speaking his language while drawing focus away from North Korea’s own unwillingness to work towards denuclearisation.

The editorial hailed the US president’s “dream about improvement of [North Korea]-US relations and world peace”, calling it an “epoch-making cause”. It described the meeting between the two leaders as something “realised by no other president in the history of America”.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the article says, should “resolutely smash the opposition’s unreasonable and foolish assertions” that North Korea is continuing with secret nuclear facilities, and “realise the president’s will”.

Naoko Aoki, a research associate at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, said the North Korean regime has been “taking advantage” of clashes in US domestic politics since the 1990s, when Congress opposed a deal being discussed between American and North Korean officials.

The​ editorial “is trying to steer the process so that it is advantageous to North Korea, by appealing to President Trump”, she told The Independent.

“This editorial reinforces what North Korea watchers have been observing,” said Dr Hoo Chiew-Ping, a senior lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations at the National University of Malaysia. “That the regime has good knowledge about the working of US domestic politics and foreign policy decision making process, and use it to their advantage in gaining leverage or squeeze concessions during negotiations.

“Trump can be easily manipulated because he enjoys having lavish praise bestowed on him, which in turn causes US foreign policy to divert away from many of the norms and principles that the West generally treasures: democracy, morality, humanitarian, and human rights.”

In Singapore, Mr Trump and Mr Kim agreed to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and in return the US president said he would being dialling down American involvement in joint military exercises with South Korea, calling them “provocative”.

Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border Show all 15 1 /15 Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border North and South Korean relatives, many of whom have been separated since the Korean War of 1950-53, met today at the Mount Kumgang resort near the Demilitarised Zone AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Lee Keum-Seom (92) meets with her North Korean son Ri Sung Chol (71) Reuters Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Kim Choon-Sik (80) meets his North Korean sister Kim Choon-Sil (77) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border North Korean Cho Soon-Do (89) meets with her South Korean sister Cho Hae-Do (86) and brother Cho Do-Jae (75) Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Hwang Woo-Seok (89) meets his North Korean daughter Hwang Young-Sook (71) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Lee Moon-Hyuk (95) meets his North Korean nephew Ri Kwan Hyuk (80) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Lee Keum-Yeon (87) meets her North Korean relative AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Han Shin-Ja (99) weeps with her North Korean daughter Kim Kyong Sil (72) AP Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border North and South Korean family members look through photo albums as they meet during a reunion Reuters Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Yoon Heung-Gyu (92) talks with his North Korean relatives AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Jo Hye-Do (86) hugs her North Korean sister Jo Soon-Do (89) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Kim Jong-Tae (81) meets his North Korean nephew Kim Hak Soo (56) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Ham Sung-Chan (93) hugs his North Korean brother Ham Dong Chan (79) Reuters Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Lee Keum-Seom (92) meets with her North Korean son Ri Sung Chol (71) AFP/Getty Korean relatives separated by the war are reunited near the border South Korean Kim Kwang-Ho (80) meets his North Korean brother Kim Kwang Il (78) Reuters

But since then, US intelligence agents have warned that North Korea appears to have stepped up its production of nuclear fuel at key weapons facilities.

Progress in talks between the two countries has stalled, and Pyongyang said it was “regrettable” that Mr Pompeo demanded unilateral denuclearisation in his third visit to the North Korean capital in July.