Furthermore, members of the international community, including South Korea, Japan, and the European Union, began to impose independent embargoes on North Korea, trying to fill gaps in the current sanctions. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on April 5, 2016, about a month after the adoption of the resolution, that “There has been visible progress on various fronts, such as the ban on port entry of the sanctioned vessels of Offshore Marine Management (OMM), registration cancellation of UN members’ vessels carrying the North Korean flag of convenience, enhanced inspection of North Korean cargo, expulsion of North Koreans involved in illicit activities, and cancellation of teaching or training of North Koreans. Yonhap News Agency of South Korea reported on April 3, 2016, a month after the adoption of Resolution 2270, that the effects of sanctions were being detected in North Korea as seen in the soaring market prices and the food shortage affecting even members of the National Security Agency. The sanctions of the resolution, if faithfully implemented by member states, are expected to deal a severe blow against the illicit arms smuggling and also the foreign currency earnings of the North Korean regime, forcing the regime onto the path of change. Spokespersons of the North Korean government and the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced statements on March 4, 2016, about 40 hours after the adoption of Resolution 2270, in North Korea’s first response to the adoption, which read “North Korea flatly rejects the UN Security Council Resolution 2270 and will take countermeasures.” Earlier on March 3, Kim Jong-un, the First Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, said "We have to get our nuclear warheads deployed for national defense ready to be launched anytime." He visited Wonsan, a naval base in Kangwon Province and watched the firing of six rounds of a new multiple rocket launcher on the day of the adoption of the resolution in an apparent show of power. On the same day, Kim Jong-un said "North Korea will shift all military responses to preemptive mode", while he denounced the resolution and the joint US-South Korea military exercise scheduled to take place from March 7 and also slammed South Korean President Park Geun-hye by name. On April 3, a month after the adoption of the resolution, North Korea delivered more threatening messages through its state agencies and channels. Korean Central Television, for instance, reported “North Korea condemns the vicious resolution of the UN Security Council as the most heinous provocation against our Republic, which is a dignified sovereign state, and flatly opposes the resolution.”