WASHINGTON — The U.S. doesn't see any indication North Korea is poised to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile capable of landing near the Hawaiian Islands, according to four government officials.

The officials, who are privy to information about North Korean launch preparations, said there are no signs of the work necessary to launch a long-range missile on the Fourth of July.

However, South Korean media said today that North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles late last night, Hawai'i time. Yonhap news agency reported that two ground-to-ship missiles were fired from the North's eastern coast.

The report gave no other details; news channel YTN carried a similar report. South Korea's Joint Chiefs could not immediately confirm the reports.

A North Korean ballistic-missile launch in April, followed by a test nuclear blast in May, underscored the regime's defiance of international calls for it to scrap its nuclear-arms effort.

The U.S. assessment of North Korean missile intentions contrasts with evidence seen earlier this year before a major launch. Commercial and intelligence satellites tracked for at least a week North Korean preparations to assemble and fuel a three-stage Taepodong-2 missile before its April 5 launch and failed attempt to put a satellite in orbit, the officials said.

"On the one hand, North Korea announced a launch window and splashdown zones for the first two stages, but there were also a lot of activities required for a launch that we saw by satellite, including transporting the launcher to the site and erecting it on the pad, trucking fuel to the site, and fueling the stages," said physicist David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 missile on July 4, 2006, which failed after about 40 seconds, and fired five short- and mid-range missiles over the Sea of Japan. The National Air and Space Intelligence Center said in a new report that "although both launches of the Taepodong-2 ended in failure, the April flight demonstrated a more complete performance than the July 2006 launch."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.