North Korea fires several missiles into the sea, hours after being hit with further UN sanctions

REUTERS/KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea's Defense Ministry says North Korea 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 North's launches also come shortly after Seoul approved its first legislation on human rights in North Korea

The South Korean bill's passage was ahead of the U.N. Security Council unanimously approving its toughest sanctions against North Korea 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.

North Korea's state media has warned that enactment of the law would result in "miserable ruin."

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