North Korean Leader Calls for Nuclear Readiness in the Country

Following the intensification of international sanctions against Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, stated that the country's nuclear weapons must be ready to be used "whenever necessary." The North Korean state news agency reported on Friday, March 4, that Kim Jong-un said: "We must be prepared to use our nuclear missiles whenever we want." After North Korea's nuclear test last month, the United Nations Security Council intensified sanctions against the country on Wednesday. The tightening of sanctions has brought the North Korean crisis into a new phase. Following the Security Council resolution against North Korea on Wednesday, the South Korean Ministry of Defense announced that North Korea had fired several missiles into the sea. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new resolution to expand sanctions against Pyongyang in response to North Korea's nuclear test. According to the Associated Press, these sanctions are the most severe punitive measures taken against North Korea in the past two decades. Meanwhile, the South Korean parliament also approved its first resolution regarding the human rights situation in North Korea on Wednesday, with 212 members voting in favor. North Korea has been sanctioned by the UN since 2006 for conducting four nuclear tests and several missile tests. The new Security Council resolution is a response to North Korea's latest nuclear test in January and the missile launch that occurred on February 7. The UN Secretary-General, the United States, and the European Union welcomed the Security Council's sanctions resolution against North Korea.