DPRK fires projectiles into the sea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired six short-range projectiles into the sea on Thursday in a show of defiance hours after the United Nations issued the toughest sanctions in history against Pyongyang for its nuclear test.

The Republic of Korea's Defense Ministry said the six projectiles — either rockets or guided missiles — fell into the sea about 100 to 150 kilometers off the DPRK's eastern coast.

"The situation on the peninsula is very complex and sensitive at the moment," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing on Thursday. He urged all parties to avoid further fueling tensions.

After seven weeks of negotiations, the UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution on the DPRK over a nuclear test on Jan 6 and a long-range rocket launch on Feb 7. Pyongyang said the latter was a satellite launch.

The resolution includes a ban on all exports from the DPRK of resources such as coal, iron, iron ore, gold, titanium ore and rare earth metals. It bans the supply to the DPRK of all types of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel.

The sanctions also require all countries to inspect cargo destined for and coming from the DPRK.

Banking restrictions will be tightened, while 16 individuals and 12 entities have been added to a UN sanctions blacklist, including the DPRK's NADA space agency.

Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the UN, said, "These are among the toughest measures we have agreed against any country, certainly the toughest ever against the DPRK."

The resolution ushered in the fifth UN sanctions imposed on the DPRK since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

The Republic of Korea said the new sanctions would plug loopholes in previous resolutions by cutting off resources to finance the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

Hong said on Thursday the sanctions are not an end in themselves, and what is most needed is to get negotiations back on track.

He said Beijing hopes the resolution can be implemented fully, adding that the sanctions should avoid affecting the lives of the public and humanitarian needs as much as possible.

Hong also urged the ROK and the US to be cautions when considering plans to deploy a new missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula.

Su Xiaohui, a researcher of international strategies at the China Institute of International Studies, said tensions on the Korean Peninsula are still rising and the priority is to get Pyongyang and Washington back to the negotiating table.

Wang Junsheng, a global strategies researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is almost impossible to press Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program through sanctions.

"The DPRK's nuclear program is largely driven by its security concerns," Wang said. "The proposal by China to replace the truce on the Korean Peninsula with a peace treaty will help solve the problem."

Yu Shaohua, director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Security and Cooperation Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said the new round of sanctions are targeted at only materials, people and agencies involved in the DPRK's nuclear program. "Normal exchanges between China and the DPRK will not be affected," she said.

AFP and Xinhua contributed to this story.