The Associated Press says no signs of panic have been detected in North Korea despite mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The report said “the center of the storm was strangely calm” as the world braced for a provocative missile launch by North Korea.

The report said “focus in Pyongyang on Wednesday was less on preparing for war and more on beautifying the capital ahead of the nation's biggest holiday: the April 15 birthday of the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung.”

The news network added that “soldiers put down their rifles to blanket the barren ground with sod and students picked up shovels to help plant trees.”

The report also said that there was no sign the North held civil air raid drills in recent months.