North Korea appeared Tuesday to back down from a threat to launch missiles toward Guam, easing tensions after a week of Pyongyang and Washington trading threats of war.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the decision not to give the go-ahead for an attack after supposedly viewing plans to send missiles toward the U.S. territory during a visit to a military command post, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing North Korean state media.

The country also reportedly warned that Kim could change his mind "if the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions."

The move by North Korea follows repeated rhetorical sparring between Pyongyang and U.S. President Donald Trump, who said North Korea would suffer "fire and fury" if it continued to make threats against the U.S. and later warned that the U.S. military was "locked and loaded" to respond.

It also came after an announcement from China on Monday that it would follow through on U.N. sanctions it voted to impose on North Korea, and begin cutting off certain imports from the Hermit Kingdom within three weeks.

Beijing traditionally has been reluctant to put pressure on the North Korean regime over fear of governmental collapse and a failed state on its borders, though its participation in the U.N. action signaled it was growing tired of Pyongyang's bellicose behavior of late. China additionally has signaled it would not come to North Korea's aid were it to launch an attack drawing U.S. retaliation.

The seeming respite in tensions also comes on the heels of South Korean President Moon Jae-in saying Monday that war on the Korean Peninsula must be avoided at all costs. And in a televised speech on Tuesday, Moon rebuked the U.S., warning against its taking any unilateral military action against North Korea without consulting Seoul first.

The U.S., meanwhile, is planning to carry out previously planned military exercises with South Korea, beginning next week. North Korea regularly blasts the drills as a provocative action.

"It's only South Korea that can decide on a military action on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said. "No one should be allowed to decide on a military action on the Korean Peninsula without South Korean agreement."

Trump's comments prompted deep concern from many who believed his unorthodox response to North Korean rhetoric could lead to a nuclear conflict with the isolated Asian country. Former Defense Secretary William Perry called Trump's posture "a dangerous departure from historical precedent."

Others, however, argue North Korea has exaggerated the capabilities of its weapons program. A paper titled "North Korea's 'Not Quite' ICMB Can't Hit the Lower 48 States," produced by an American and two German rocket experts, claims missiles tested by the North Koreans in July could not have carried a nuclear payload to the continental U.S., and possibly not to Anchorage, Alaska.

One of the authors, Ted Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Newsweek the North Korean missiles amounted to a "hoax."

The perceived nuclear threat, however, sharply elevated fears among the 162,000 people living in Guam, which is home to strategic U.S. military facilities, that they could be subject to an attack.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that the island, which sits in the Pacific roughly 2,100 miles from North Korea, "is well-protected."

He added, however, that war would escalate "very quickly" should North Korea fire a missile at the United States.

"If they shoot at the United States, I'm assuming they hit the United States. If they do that, then it's game on," the retired Marine four-star general said. "We will defend the country from any attack at any time from any quarter. Yes, that means for a lot of young troops they're going to be in a wartime situation. Welcome to reality."

"You don't shoot at people in this world unless you want to bear the consequences."

An op-ed Mattis wrote roughly two weeks ago with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about the importance of using diplomacy to lead the U.S. response to North Korea also was published Sunday.