North Korea Refuses To Take Part In UN Security Council Meeting On Its Human Rights SituationBy Jade Walker UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An angry North Korea, now on the defensive over a U.S. accusation of hacking, is refusing to take part in a groundbreaking U.N. Security Council meeting Monday where the countrys bleak human rights situation will be discussed for the first time. InternationalBy Jade Walker UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An angry North Korea, now on the defensive over a U.S. accusation of hacking, is refusing to take part in a groundbreaking U.N. Security Council meeting Monday where the countrys bleak human rights situation will be discussed for the first time. International pressure has built this year on Pyongyang after a sprawling U.N.-backed inquiry of alleged crimes against humanity and warned that young leader Kim Jong Un could be held accountable. And attention has focused on the North in recent days, as the Obama administration on Friday blamed it for the devastating hacking attack on Sony over the film The Interview, which portrays Kims assassination. Now the 15-member Security Council is being urged to refer North Koreas human rights situation to the International Criminal Court, seen as a court of last resort for atrocities. Its the boldest effort yet to confront Pyongyang over an issue it has openly disdained in the past. Instead of a showdown, North Korea says it will not attend Mondays meeting. It accuses the United States and its allies of using the human rights issue as a weapon to overthrow the leadership of the impoverished but nuclear-armed nation. It also calls the dozens of people who fled the North and aided the commission of inquiry human scum. If the council takes any action, maybe we will take necessary measures, diplomat Kim Song told The Associated Press on Friday. He did not give details. North Korea already sent a sharp warning last month, threatening further nuclear tests after the U.N. General Assemblys human rights committee voted to move the issue toward the Security Council, which can take binding actions on matters of international peace and security. The council has had North Koreas nuclear program on its agenda for years, but Mondays meeting opens the door to wider discussion of abuses alleged in the recent inquiry, including starvation and a harsh political prison camp system of up to 120,000 inmates. Pyongyang rejects the inquirys findings but never allowed it into the country. Two-thirds of the Security Council this month formally requested that North Koreas human rights situation be placed on the agenda for ongoing debate, saying rights violations threaten to have a destabilizing impact on the region. China and its veto power as a permanent council member could block any action against its traditional but troublesome ally, but the mere threat of damage to Kim Jong Uns image has outraged the North Korean government. Such fury is thought to be behind the Sony hacking. North Korea has denied the attack but has suggested it was a righteous deed carried out by sympathizers. Sony last week cancelled the Christmas Day release of The Interview, setting off alarm among some diplomats and entertainment figures who warned of setting a precedent for backing down in the face of future threats. The hacking is expected to be discussed in Mondays meeting. ift.tt/1gB4pon
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:17:33 +0000