North Korea has moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defence minister has said.
Minister Kim Kwan-jin said he did not know the reasons behind the missile movement, saying it "could be for testing or drills".
However, he added that it is not capable of hitting the United States and there are no signs that North Korea is preparing for a full-scale conflict.
The report came hours after North Korea's military warned that it has been authorised to attack the US using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons.
It was the North's latest war cry against the US in recent weeks, with the added suggestion that it had improved its nuclear technology.
The Pentagon in the US said it will deploy a high-altitude missile defence system to Guam to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region's protections against a possible North Korean attack.
The US has already sent bombers, stealth fighters and ships to the region.
Experts say North Korea has not demonstrated that it has missiles capable of long range or accuracy.
Some suspect that long-range missiles unveiled by Pyongyang at a parade last year were actually mock-ups.
Mr Kim said he believed the North's recent threats were rhetorical.
"I believe the odds of a full-scale provocation are small," he added.
But he said there is still the possibility of North Korea mounting a localised, small-scale provocation against South Korea.
He cited the 2010 shelling of a South Korean island, an attack that killed four people, as a possible example of such a provocation.
Pyongyang has been railing against joint US and South Korean military exercises taking place in South Korea and has expressed anger over tightened UN sanctions for its February nuclear test.
For a second day, North Korean border authorities denied entry to South Koreans who manage jointly run factories in the North Korean city of Kaesong.
A North Korean government-run committee threatened to pull out North Korean workers from Kaesong as well.
On Tuesday, Pyongyang announced it would restart a plutonium reactor it had shut down in 2007.
A US research institute said yesterday that satellite imagery shows that construction needed for the restart has already begun.
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