South Korea's top military officer has put off a visit to Washington because of escalating tensions with North Korea that have also compelled more than a dozen South Korean companies to halt operations at a joint factory complex in the North, officials said Sunday.

South Korea's top military officer has put off a visit to Washington because of escalating tensions with North Korea that have also compelled more than a dozen South Korean companies to halt operations at a joint factory complex in the North, officials said Sunday.

Staff at embassies in North Korea appeared to be remaining in place on Saturday despite an appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving because of heightened tension after weeks of bellicose exchanges.

North Korea's latest outburst of nuclear and military threats has given the U.S. a rare opportunity to build bridges with China and revitalize the Obama administration's flagging policy pivot to Asia.

More South Koreans on Saturday began to leave North Korea and the factory park where they work, four days after Pyongyang closed the border to people and goods.

North Korea told Russia on Friday to consider evacuating its embassy in Pyongyang, as reports suggesting the North was preparing an imminent missile launch prompted a fresh spike in global concern.

The United States is taking “all the necessary precautions” in the face of escalating threats from North Korea, the White House said Thursday.

South Korea may pull its workers out of a joint industrial complex in North Korea if their situation becomes untenable as cross-border tensions soar, a minister said Friday.

The United States has scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defenses as North Korea pushed more global alarm buttons Thursday by announcing it had authorized plans for possible nuclear strikes on U.S. targets.

Hackers apparently broke into at least two of North Korea's government-run online sites Thursday, as tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula.