South Korea was meanwhile preparing a major show of military strength with a live-fire exercise involving fighter jets and tanks near the tense North Korean border in an apparent attempt to deter another strike by Pyongyang.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs argued that the maneuvers had been announced well in advance and were transparent and defensive and "should in no way engender a response from the North Koreans."

The live-fire exercise, planned for Thursday with self-propelled guns and 800 soldiers, follows signs of an easing of tensions on the peninsula after the North backed down from a threat to retaliate against an earlier drill.

Although similar exercises have been held at the same firing range 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the mainland border many times before, the latest comes with Seoul on high alert for a possible attack from the North.

Seoul's military said it wanted to hone preparedness but denied it was trying to be provocative.

"As to the firing drill at Pocheon, we carry out more than 40 such drills every year," a defense ministry spokesman said.

Tensions have been high since the North shelled an island near the contested western maritime border last month in response to a live-fire drill by the South. The bombardment killed four people including civilians.

Seoul staged a repeat drill on the same island on Monday but the North did not go through with threats to hit back, saying it "did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation".

The rare display of restraint eased fears of a full-blown conflict breaking out on the peninsula.

A top Chinese diplomat at the UN Security Council said Tuesday hostilities between the two Koreas had come "close to fighting a war."

Pyongyang also reportedly offered nuclear concessions to visiting US politician Bill Richardson, a veteran troubleshooter, although there has been no confirmation from the North.

But Seoul and Washington have expressed scepticism about the apparent overtures by the North, coming after intense sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, whose hardline communist regime is undergoing a generational power shift.

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