North Korea eases tension by moving missiles A Musudan missile during a military parade. Two of the medium-range missiles have been removed from a launch site on the east coast of North Korea. Photograph: Kcna/EPA North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast after weeks of concern that Pyongyang was poised for a test launch, Reuters reported US officials as saying on Monday. The US did not believe the missiles were moved to an alternative launch site and were instead in a non-operational location, one of the officials said. The official did not elaborate. The move comes as the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, praised South Korea's new president for her firm but measured response to North Korea's recent provocative actions and her determination to resolve their differences through dialogue. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, met Park Geun-hye behind closed doors at the start of her first trip to the US since she became South Korea's first female president in February. The heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, sparked by weeks of fiery rhetoric and threats from North Korea's tightly controlled regime headed by the country's new young leader, Kim Jong-un, dominated the talks. "The secretary-general praised the president for her firm, but measured response to recent provocative actions by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and strongly supported her determination to resolve inter-Korean differences through building trust and dialogue," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said, using North Korea's official name. The secretary general also expressed concern about the serious food and nutrition situation in North Korea and appreciation for the continued willingness of the South Korean government to help address the humanitarian situation in the North, Nesirky said.