"I call on the military to keep close tabs on the possibility of North Korea's provocations and strengthen its (readiness) posture for an immediate response," he said during a regular meeting of Cabinet ministers on pending state affairs.

Pointing to Pyongyang's failed missile launch on Sunday and its menacing rhetoric, the acting president said that the reclusive state could engage in provocative acts again "at any time."

Tensions have been rising on the peninsula in recent weeks with the North seen preparing for a new nuclear test and the United States issuing a strong warning against its provocative behavior.

During his visit to Seoul earlier this week, US Vice President Mike Pence warned Pyongyang against testing America's "resolve," noting a set of military actions Washington recently took in Syria and Afghanistan.

On April 7, the US struck a Syrian air base to punish the Bashar al-Assad regime for a suspected chemical attack. Less than a week later, it dropped a massive bomb on an Islamic State complex in Afghanistan. Observers said these military steps sent an implicit message to the North. (Yonhap)