North Korea has shifted a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's foreign minister says.
Kim Kwan-jin played down concerns that the missile could target the US mainland, and said the North's intentions were not yet clear.
Pyongyang earlier renewed threats of a nuclear strike against the US, though its missiles are not believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The US is responding to North Korea by moving missile defence shields to Guam.
Meanwhile, Russia said Pyongyang's attempts to "violate decisions of the UN Security Council are categorically unacceptable".
"This radically complicates, if it doesn't in practice shut off, the prospects for resuming six-party talks," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement on Thursday.
The talks involving North and South Korea, the US, Russia, China and Japan were last held in late 2008.
'Worst-case scenario'
Japan said it was co-operating closely with the US and South Korea to monitor the North's next move.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that although the rhetoric was "increasingly provocative", Tokyo would "calmly" watch the situation.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga earlier told reporters that Japan was braced for a "worst-case scenario".
The Pentagon said the shield on its Pacific island territory would be ready within weeks, adding to warships already sent to the area.
The North has previously named Guam among a list of possible targets for attack that included Hawaii and the US mainland.
Japanese and South Korea reports had suggested the missile being moved by the North was a long-range one with a capability of hitting the US west coast.
However, experts believe the North's most powerful rocket, which it test-fired last December, has a range of 6,000km (3,700 miles) and can reach no further than Alaska.
Kim Kwan-jin told MPs in a parliamentary defence committee meeting that the missile had "considerable range".
"The missile does not seem to be aimed at the US mainland. It could be aimed at test firing or military drills," he said.
Analysts have interpreted Mr Kim's description as referring to the Musudan missile, estimated to have a range up to 4,000km. Guam would be within that range.
Source:BBC News
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