North Korea, which unleashed another round of scathing rhetoric accusing the United States of pushing the region to the "brink of war," could be planning a missile launch soon, a U.S. official said Thursday.

Communications intercepts in recent days indicated that Pyongyang could be planning to launch a mobile ballistic missile in the coming days or weeks, the official first told CNN. It's unknown whether it would be a test or a strike.

The news emerged as South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee in Seoul that the North has moved a medium-range missile to its east coast for an imminent test firing or military drill.

The missile doesn't appear to be aimed at the U.S. mainland, Kim said, according to the semi-official South Korean news agency Yonhap.
N. Korea threatens 'merciless' strikes

Wednesday, the United States announced it was sending ballistic missile defenses to Guam, a Western Pacific territory that is home to U.S. naval and air bases. North Korea has cited those bases when listing possible targets for missile attacks.

The latest developments come amid the disclosure of what one U.S. official calls an Obama administration "playbook" of pre-scripted actions and responses to the last several weeks of North Korean rhetoric and provocations.

Pentagon officials, while decrying North Korean saber-rattling, said recent announcements of U.S. military deployments in response to belligerent statements by North Korea may have contributed to the escalating tensions between the countries.

"We accused the North Koreans of amping things up, now we are worried we did the same thing," one Defense Department official said.

The latest tough talk from Pyongyang lashed out at the U.S. military presence in the region.

A spokesman for a North Korean group accused the United States of "hurling" its "nuclear war hardware into the region and pushing the situation on the brink of war," Pyongyang's official news agency reported.