( CNN ) -- North Korea has withdrawn two mobile ballistic missiles from a launch site in the eastern part of the country , according to a U.S. official , the latest hint of an easing in tensions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 . 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 . More tests will take North Korea closer to nuclear missile , Pentagon says . 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 . Last remaining South Koreans leave joint industrial complex . 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 .
Two Musudan missiles have been sent to a storage facility , a U.S. official says . The U.S. and South Korea said previously the missiles could be fired at any time . The disclosure comes after the intensity of North Korea threats has calmed . Comment: