By Li Hongmei

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) appears to have lifted its highest combat alert issued in March and completely withdrawn two mid-range missiles from its launch site, South Korea's senior government source said Tuesday.

The DPRK has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast. This development seems to halt weeks-long concern that Pyongyang was poised for a test-launch.

The DPRK had been spewing belligerent threats aimed at South Korea and the United States, after the U.N. Security Council voted in March to slap tougher sanctions on the country and against the backdrop of U.S.-South Korean military drills in the region.

Meanwhile Pentagon spokesman George Little, who declined to comment directly on the missiles, told reporters "what we have seen recently is a provocation pause".

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye is currently in the U.S. for a five-day visit that began on Sunday, which will culminate in a summit with her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama set for Tuesday.

During an interview with CBS television broadcast on Monday, Park warned that Pyongyang will pay the price if it launches attacks against Seoul.

The DPRK, which had toned down its war rhetoric recently, renewed its threats on Tuesday, saying it would "mercilessly avenge" any breach of its territorial sovereignty with rocket forces in opposition to the ongoing Seoul-Washington anti-submarine drills near the Yellow Sea border.

Pyongyang has also recently spurned Seoul's calls for talks on saving the suspended joint industrial complex in its border city of Kaesong from permanent closure.