WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US DefenCe Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday that North Korea has been skating close to a "dangerous line" with its near-daily threats against the United States and South Korea.

"North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, its action, ... skating very close to a dangerous line," MR Hagel said at a Pentagon news conference to discuss the department's 2014 budget.

"Their actions and words have not helped defuse a combustible situation."

Asked whether US citizens should be concerned about the threats, Mr Hagel said the United States had the capacity to defend its citizens and those of its allies from any action North Korea might take.