Seoul urged North Korea to halt actions that only escalate tensions in response to reports that regime leader Kim Jong-un visited the country's satellite launch site on the west coast, where he encouraged its modernization.

Unification ministry deputy spokesperson Cha Deok-cheol on Friday called on the North to instead respond to calls from South Korea and the U.S. to return to dialogue.

Cha added that Seoul, in cooperation with Washington and the international community, will thoroughly prepare for all possibilities, while closely monitoring related developments.

The North's state media earlier reported on Kim's visit to the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, capable of  testing inter-continental ballistic missiles(ICBMs).

The news came as South Korea and the U.S. jointly concluded that the North's recently claimed reconnaissance satellite development tests involved a new inter-continental ballistic missile system.