South Korea on Thursday voiced hope that North Korea's latest restraint from additional provocations could pave the way for dialogue with Pyongyang amid signs of de-escalating tensions on the divided peninsula.

Seoul's unification ministry said that the North has refrained from making provocative acts since the UN Security Council's adoption of new sanctions earlier this month.

"We hope that this situation could set the tone for dialogue," a ministry official said.

Tensions have eased somewhat after exchanges of bellicose rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership in recent weeks. The North last week held off on its threat to fire missiles around the US territory of Guam.

Trump said at a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "starting to respect."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also welcomed the North's restraint from provocations, voicing hope that dialogue with Pyongyang may be possible "sometime in the near future."

"The remarks (by Trump and Tillerson) are seen as part of efforts to ease tensions," the ministry official said. "We are closely monitoring the situation with a positive note."

But he also called for guarding against North Korea's possible provocations, given that the country conducted its fifth nuclear test on the anniversary of the regime's establishment in 2016.

On Friday, North Korea will mark its 57th anniversary of late former leader Kim Jong-il's visit to a tank unit that first infiltrated Seoul during the 1950-53 Korean War.

One day before last year's anniversary, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. In September 2016, it conducted its fifth nuclear test following a similar detonation early last year. (Yonhap)