SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired several short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast Thursday — just hours after the United Nations slapped sanctions on Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, South Korea's Defense Ministry said.
"North Korea has launched several projectiles at 10 a.m. this morning (8 p.m. ET Wednesday) into the eastern sea and we are in the process of analyzing the situation," a military official told NBC News. "We have strengthened military preparedness and surveillance of North Korea's missile launch situation."
Defense spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said the projectiles were fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, adding authorities were trying to determine what exactly North Korea fired.
North Korea has a history of firing weapons when angered by international condemnation.
Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, making the widely disputed claim that it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. Last month, North Korea put a satellite into orbit on a long-range rocket that the United Nations and others see as a cover for a test of banned ballistic missile technology.
Thursday's launches came after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved its toughest sanctions against North Korea in 20 years.