North Korea’s human rights record is being discussed by the UN Security Council, despite opposition from China and Russia.
It comes days after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity.
North Korea has meanwhile reportedly suffered a large-scale internet outage.
Last week, the US said North Korea was behind a cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
It is the first time the UN Security Council has discussed the country’s human rights record.
US envoy Samantha Power described North Korea as “a living nightmare”, and said a UN report showed the country’s brutality.
The report by a UN human rights inquiry in February said that ordinary North Koreans faced “unspeakable atrocities”, including “deliberate starvation, forced labor, executions, torture” and political repression.
North Korea refused to co-operate with the report and condemned its findings. It is not attending the Security Council meeting.
Speaking on December 22, North Korean envoy Kim Song told AFP: “We cannot recognize the Security Council meeting. Its mandate is not human rights.”
China and Russia also attempted to block the subject from being discussed at the Security Council. However, they were overruled by other members.
Meanwhile, a US-based Internet performance company said that North Korea was experiencing severe internet outages.
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