A North Korea soldier gestures to stop photographers from taking photos from a Chinese tour boat as other soldiers look on along the North Korean bank of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiji across the Chinese city of Dandong in Liaoning province, China, on Saturday, April 6. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the country's military to increase artillery production, a televised report out of Pyongyang showed on Saturday.
(CNN) -- North Korea has withdrawn two mobile ballistic missiles from a launch site in the eastern part of the country, according to a U.S. official, the latest hint of an easing in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The disclosure came Monday, the day before President Barack Obama is due to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, in Washington.
During a fraught period last month that included near daily North Korean threats of war, U.S. and South Korean officials said they believed Kim Jong Un's regime could carry out a test launch of at least one of the missiles at any time. The United States and Japan responded by stepping up missile defenses in the region.
But the anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder on April 15, seen as the likely date around which a launch could take place, came and went without either of the missiles being fired. And now they have been sent to a storage facility, the U.S. official said.
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The missiles the North has moved from the launch site are believed to be Musudans, an untested weapon that the South Korean government says has a maximum range of 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles). That would mean the missiles could reach as far as Japan and Guam, a Western Pacific territory that is home to U.S. naval and air bases.
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Recent tensions
The recent period of tensions flared up after the North's long-range rocket launch in December and underground nuclear test in February, both of which were widely condemned.
Pyongyang's fiery rhetoric intensified in March as the U.N. Security Council voted to tighten sanctions on the regime following the nuclear test. Annual U.S.-South Korean military drills in South Korea also fueled the North's anger, especially when the United States carried out displays of strength that included nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers.
But a key part of the large-scale training exercises, known as Foal Eagle, concluded last week, and the intensity of Pyongyang's threats appears to have subsided. Its rhetorical exchanges with Washington and Seoul have shifted to include conditions for possible negotiations, although both sides appear to remain far apart.
North Korea is demanding recognition as a nuclear power, something the United States refuses to countenance. And the recent crisis resulted in the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
Analysts and U.S. officials have cautioned that Kim Jong Un's regime remains unpredictable and that tensions could escalate again in the event of new provocations.
It would be "premature" to make a judgment about whether the North Korean "provocation cycle is going up, down or zig-zagging," Daniel Russel, White House special assistant and senior director for Asian affairs, said Monday.
"No one should be prepared to declare a victory yet," he said, referring to the reports of the missiles being moved off the launch site.
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A fresh warning from the North
A reminder of the fragile situation came in a North Korean statement Tuesday that accused U.S. and South Korean forces of carrying out naval shelling drills near the two Koreas' disputed western maritime border.
The statement, from the North Korean military's command in the sector near that part of the border, warned of "immediate counteractions" if "even a single shell" from the drills fell within its territorial waters.
But the statement was notably free of the talk of "nuclear war" that peppered North Korean propaganda directed at the United States and South Korea during the height of the tensions in March and April.
At a news briefing in Seoul, Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the South Korean defense ministry, denied the North's accusation that shelling drills had been taking place in the sea near the border since Sunday.
He confirmed, though, that planned annual naval drills to practice the defense of islands near the border were under way.
In November 2010, North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians. Pyongyang accused Seoul of provoking the attack by holding a military drill in the area.
The current situation regarding North Korea is chief among the subjects on the agenda for Obama and Park's meeting on Tuesday.
Obama will use Park's visit to "reaffirm the strong commitment" of the U.S. to the defense of South Korea, Russel said Monday.
CNN's Brian Walker and Lesa Jansen, and journalist Soo Bin Park contributed to this report.
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North Korean soldiers gather by the docks in Sinuiju near the Chinese border on Thursday, April 4. North Korea has unleashed another round of scathing rhetoric accusing the United States of pushing the region to the "brink of war." The country may be planning a missile launch soon, a U.S. official told CNN, as tensions mount on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean soldiers patrol along the Yalu River in Sinuiju across the border from the Chinese city of Dandong on April 4.
Kim Jong Un is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S."
Kim Jong Un works during a briefing in this undated photo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects drills by the Korean People's Army navy at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast on March 25 in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim makes his way to an observation post with North Korean soldiers on March 25.
Kim uses a pair of binoculars to look south from the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7.
Kim is greeted by the family of a soldier as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on Thursday, March 7, in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim is surrounded by soldiers during a visit to the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7. North Korea has escalated its bellicose rhetoric, threatening nuclear strikes, just before the U.N. Security Council passed tougher sanctions against the secretive nation on March 7.
Kim arrives at Jangjae Islet by boat to meet with soldiers of the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on March 7.
Soldiers in the North Korean army train at an undisclosed location on March 6.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, poses with chiefs of branch social security stations in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency on November 27.
Kim celebrates with staff from the satellite control center in Pyongyang, North Korea, during the launch of a rocket carrying a satellite, in a photo released by the official North Korean news agency on December 12.
A crowd watches as statues of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, and his son Kim Jong Il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang on April 13, 2012. Photos from North Korea are rare, but the country was on full display in April 2012 as it celebrated the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung.
A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of an UNHA III rocket at the Tangachai-ri Space Center on April 8, 2012.
In April 2012, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which broke apart and fell into the sea. The UNHA III rocket is pictured on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A closer look at the UNHA III rocket on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A military vehicle participates in a parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
North Koreans wave flags in front of portraits of Kim Il Sung, left, and his son Kim Jong Il during celebrations to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers relax at the end of an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Kim Jong Un applauds as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
A North Korean soldier stands on a balcony in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Soldiers board a bus outside a theater in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean performers sit below a screen showing images of leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers salute during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Kim Jong Un visits the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which is under construction in Pyongyang, in a photo released on July 3, 2012, by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korean soldiers listen to a speech during an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Members of a North Korean military band gather following an official ceremony at the Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
North Korean military personnel watch a performance in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
A North Korean controller is seen along the railway line between Pyongyang and North Pyongan province on April 8, 2012.
A North Korean military honor guard stands at attention at Pyongyang's airport during a diplomatic visit on May 2, 2001.
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