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| North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Tells Military to Have Nuclear Warheads on Standby | North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Tells Military to Have Nuclear Warheads on Standby |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has urged his military to have its nuclear warheads deployed and ready to be fired at any moment, the country’s state-run news agency reported Friday. | |
| Mr. Kim’s comments were reported a day after the United Nations Security Council approved tougher sanctions aimed at curtailing his country’s ability to secure funds and technology for its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile programs. | Mr. Kim’s comments were reported a day after the United Nations Security Council approved tougher sanctions aimed at curtailing his country’s ability to secure funds and technology for its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile programs. |
| The North’s official Korean Central News Agency called the resolution unanimously adopted by the Council “unprecedented and gangster-like,” and it quoted Mr. Kim as repeating his exhortation to his military to further advance its nuclear and missile capabilities. | The North’s official Korean Central News Agency called the resolution unanimously adopted by the Council “unprecedented and gangster-like,” and it quoted Mr. Kim as repeating his exhortation to his military to further advance its nuclear and missile capabilities. |
| “The only way for defending the sovereignty of our nation and its right to existence under the present extreme situation is to bolster up nuclear force, both in quality and quantity, and keep balance of forces,” Mr. Kim was quoted as saying. | “The only way for defending the sovereignty of our nation and its right to existence under the present extreme situation is to bolster up nuclear force, both in quality and quantity, and keep balance of forces,” Mr. Kim was quoted as saying. |
| He then stressed “the need to get the nuclear warheads deployed for national defense always on standby so as to be fired any moment,” the agency said. | He then stressed “the need to get the nuclear warheads deployed for national defense always on standby so as to be fired any moment,” the agency said. |
| Later Friday, the North issued a statement calling the Security Council resolution a “heinous provocation” and promising unspecified “strong and ruthless physical responses.” | |
| In Seoul, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea warned that Pyongyang could attempt more provocations and said the South’s military should be prepared. “This time, we must make North Korea realize that its regime cannot survive without giving up its nuclear weapons,” she said in a speech at a commissioning ceremony for military officers. | |
| North Korea has often threatened nuclear war with the United States and has claimed to have built nuclear weapons small enough to be carried by missiles. Yet questions remain about its capabilities, including how close it has come to mastering technologies to build a small warhead and deliver it on a long-range missile. | North Korea has often threatened nuclear war with the United States and has claimed to have built nuclear weapons small enough to be carried by missiles. Yet questions remain about its capabilities, including how close it has come to mastering technologies to build a small warhead and deliver it on a long-range missile. |
| In Seoul on Friday, representatives of the South Korean and American armed forces on a joint task force met to discuss the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad. | In Seoul on Friday, representatives of the South Korean and American armed forces on a joint task force met to discuss the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad. |
| South Korea agreed to consider the deployment after the North’s launch of a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. President Park’s government says that Thaad would bolster its defense against North Korean missiles, but China has strongly opposed the deployment, saying that its presence on the Korean Peninsula would undermine its own nuclear deterrent capabilities. | |
| In the past, North Korea has escalated its bellicose threats whenever the United States and South Korea start their annual joint military exercises, which it says are aimed at overthrowing its government. | In the past, North Korea has escalated its bellicose threats whenever the United States and South Korea start their annual joint military exercises, which it says are aimed at overthrowing its government. |
| Some of the annual drills are scheduled to begin this month. On Friday, the North Korean news agency charged that the exercises included drills for a “beheading operation” and the “collapse of social system” in the North. | Some of the annual drills are scheduled to begin this month. On Friday, the North Korean news agency charged that the exercises included drills for a “beheading operation” and the “collapse of social system” in the North. |
| “Now is the time for us to convert our mode of military counteraction toward the enemies into an pre-emptive attack one in every aspect,” it quoted Mr. Kim as saying in response. | “Now is the time for us to convert our mode of military counteraction toward the enemies into an pre-emptive attack one in every aspect,” it quoted Mr. Kim as saying in response. |
| K.C.N.A. said that Mr. Kim had made his remarks while inspecting tests of new weapons, including fragmentation-mine shells and underground penetration shells for the North’s newly developed large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher that it said had entered serial production. | K.C.N.A. said that Mr. Kim had made his remarks while inspecting tests of new weapons, including fragmentation-mine shells and underground penetration shells for the North’s newly developed large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher that it said had entered serial production. |
| It did not clarify when the tests had taken place. But the South Korean Defense Ministry said that North Korea had launched six projectiles off its east coast on Thursday, hours after the Security Council resolution was adopted unanimously. | It did not clarify when the tests had taken place. But the South Korean Defense Ministry said that North Korea had launched six projectiles off its east coast on Thursday, hours after the Security Council resolution was adopted unanimously. |
| The projectiles flew about 60 to 90 miles before landing in the sea, the ministry added. South Korean defense officials said that the North had been testing a new multiple-rocket launcher with a range long enough to strike major American and South Korean military bases, including those in the Osan-Pyeongtaek hub 62 miles south of Seoul. | The projectiles flew about 60 to 90 miles before landing in the sea, the ministry added. South Korean defense officials said that the North had been testing a new multiple-rocket launcher with a range long enough to strike major American and South Korean military bases, including those in the Osan-Pyeongtaek hub 62 miles south of Seoul. |
| Apart from its nuclear weapons, North Korea’s multiple-rocket launchers and artillery pieces are its most-feared weapons in the South. | Apart from its nuclear weapons, North Korea’s multiple-rocket launchers and artillery pieces are its most-feared weapons in the South. |
| The North is estimated to have 13,000 of them clustered on the inter-Korean border, 28 miles north of Seoul; the North’s occasional threats over the years to turn the South Korean capital into a “sea of fire” are presumed to be references to these weapons. | The North is estimated to have 13,000 of them clustered on the inter-Korean border, 28 miles north of Seoul; the North’s occasional threats over the years to turn the South Korean capital into a “sea of fire” are presumed to be references to these weapons. |