North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to be ready to use its nuclear weapons "at any moment," state media have said, in what is Pyongyang's latest angry response to expanded U.N. sanctions against it.
Kim also threatened to carry out a "preemptive attack" on North Korea's enemies, saying the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is very precarious, according to the Friday report from the Korean Central News Agency.
The North's escalated rhetoric came after the U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed tough new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear and long-range missile tests.
North Korea often threatens nuclear strikes during times of elevated tensions. But experts question whether the North has the ability to place its nuclear weapons onto long-range missiles.
On Thursday, North Korea fired six short-range missiles off its eastern coast, according to Seoul's defense ministry, which said the projectiles flew up to 150 kilometers before landing in the sea.
