North Korea marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of its armed forces rather quietly, despite heightened international worries that it may be preparing another nuclear test after conducting two last year or a major missile launch.

Neither of which took place by noon and it was not immediately known how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un commemorated the day.

The anniversary, following a vast military parade this month in the heart of Pyongyang, comes as North Korea and the United States have engaged in a war of words and military muscle-flexing in recent weeks.

No major public event was scheduled for Tuesday in Pyongyang to celebrate the creation of the Korean People's Army, other than outdoor dancing festivities to be held in front of a gymnasium, a theater and several other venues.

Nevertheless, government and military officials of other countries in the region remained on high alert over the possibility of North Korea following through with a banned weapons test on this occasion.

Starting from early in the morning, North Koreans dressed in formal attire laid flowers and floral baskets before the large bronze statues of the country's two late leaders on Mansu Hill in the capital city.

"It is none of the outside (world's) business whether we do a nuclear test or fire a missile to defend our sovereignty," Kim Sung Su, a 50-year-old serviceman, told Kyodo News at the statues. "We can do any training when we make up our minds."

North Korea has designated April 25, 1932, when it says that state founder Kim Il Sung organized anti-Japanese guerrilla forces, as the army's official foundation day.

Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most influential newspaper, said the army "with nuclear weapons and advanced armament equipment has no limits on attack power" in its front-page editorial on Tuesday.

It warned of a "strike of punishment without prior notice" from the army if the United States and South Korea continue with their supposed scheme to mount a preemptive strike against North Korea.

Still, many local citizens, not knowing the extent to which their country is currently the subject of international concern, appeared to be simply in a festive mood on the national holiday.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate every spring when South Korea and the United States carry out their annual military exercises, which North Korea regards as a rehearsal for invasion.

The joint drills began last month and run through the end of April. What makes this year's situation especially tense is that it is intertwined with the more hawkish approach of the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January.

Since then, both sides have seemingly been testing each other's intentions.

Departing from the previous U.S. administration's policy of "strategic patience" toward North Korea, Trump and his senior team have kept saying that all options, including military action, are on the table to prevent Kim's regime from advancing its nuclear weapons capability.

A week ahead of the 105th anniversary of the state founder's birth on April 15, when the parade displaying various ballistic missiles was staged, the United States announced the dispatch of an aircraft carrier, the Carl Vinson, and its battle group to waters off the Korean Peninsula in a show of force.

North Korea, where military affairs are given top priority, often marks significant dates by conducting weapons tests. While the state founder's birth anniversary passed without that happening, there was a botched missile launch the following day.

Along with the sending of the naval strike group, a U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airfield and the dropping of a highly powerful but non-nuclear bomb on Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan -- both of which happened this month -- are seen as a strong warning from Washington to Pyongyang not to test the Trump administration's resolve.