By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's continuing development of nuclear technology and long-range ballistic missiles will move it closer to its stated goal of being able to hit the United States with an atomic weapon, a new Pentagon report to Congress said on Thursday.

North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position in the eastern part of the country, diplomatic sources familiar with Korean affairs said Tuesday. The U.S. cable news network CNN quoted a U.S. administration official as saying the missiles have been moved to a storage facility, while an official told Reuters news agency they were taken to a nonoperational location. North Korea moved the intermediate-range missiles after weeks of concern that it was poised to fire them.

North Korea has moved two missiles primed for imminent test firing from a launch site, American officials said Monday, as North Asia tensions eased slightly on the eve of a US-South Korea summit. US and South Korean officials had been worried Pyongyang would heighten a cycle of provocation, which has included threats of nuclear war, by firing the Musudan missiles, which have a range of up to 3,500 miles (5,630 kilometers). But a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity: "they moved them," and added that there was no longer an imminent threat of a launch.

North Korea has moved two missiles from launch sites on the country's eastern coast, US officials said Monday, signaling lowered tensions following worries Pyongyang was ready to test-fire the weapons. The Musudan missiles had been ready to launch at any moment, but "they moved them," a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. North Korea's move meant there was no longer an imminent threat of a launch, and Pyongyang would have to make preparations before returning to a launch-ready status, two US officials said.