WASHINGTON -- The White House said Tuesday that Pyongyang's latest call for foreigners to leave South Korea will only escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The move is "more unhelpful rhetoric that serves only to escalate tensions," which "will only further isolate" the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), White House Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a regular press briefing.

He called on the DPRK leadership "to choose the path of peace and to come into compliance with its international obligations," adding that Washington was taking "prudent measures" in response, including the repositioning of missile defense assets.

Earlier on the day, the DPRK asked foreigners living in South Korea to consider evacuation, the official KCNA news agency reported.

A spokesman for the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee called on all foreign organizations, companies and tourists in South Korea to prepare measures for evacuation in case of war.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermonuclear war" due to the hostile actions of the United States and South Korea and their moves for a war against the DPRK, the spokesman said.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 in protest against the joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

The DPRK, among others, has declared "a state of war" with the South and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense.