Obama signs bill to slap tougher sanctions on DPRK

WASHINGTON -- US President Barack Obama has signed into law the legislation to impose more stringent sanctions on Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the White House said Thursday.

US House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly passed the bill with a 408-2 vote. The legislation was approved by the Senate earlier last week.

The legislation requires the Obama administration to sanction anyone involved with DPRK's nuclear program, luxury goods, money laundering and human rights abuses.

The measure also authorizes $10 million annually over the course of five years for expanding DPRK people's access to media and providing humanitarian assistance to refugees.

The move takes place after the DPRK said it had launched on Feb. 7 a Kwangmyongsong-4 Earth observation satellite into orbit earlier this month and tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last month.

The US has condemned the DPRK's "destabilizing and provocative" actions and vowed to "take all necessary steps to defend ourselves and our allies."

The UN Security Council had strongly condemned DPRK's latest launch using ballistic missile technology, calling it a serious violation of Security Council resolutions.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at a meeting with South Korea's foreign minister on Feb. 9, had expressed his deep concern about the negative impact of the DPRK's recent acts on regional stability and wider disarmament and non-proliferation objectives.