DPRK fires short-range projectiles into sea

World Today

FILE – In this Jan. 6, 2016 file photo, people watch a TV news program showing North Korea’s announcement that it conducted a hydrogen bomb test, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. The U.S. is sanctioning a dozen individuals and five organizations tied to North Korea’s nuclear and weapons proliferation efforts. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said DPRK has fired several short-range projectiles into the sea just hours after the United Nations slapped sanctions on Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

The DPRK’s launches also come shortly after Seoul approved its first legislation on human rights in the DPRK.

The South Korean bill’s passage was ahead of the U.N. Security Council unanimously approving its toughest sanctions against the DPRK in 20 years.

A total of 212 South Korean lawmakers voted for the bill and 24 others abstained in the floor vote. It becomes law when it is endorsed by the Cabinet Council, considered a formality.

The DPRK state media has warned that enactment of the law would result in “miserable ruin.”

Story by the Associated Press