UNSC urged to discuss N. Korea's human rights violations: report

The United States, France and Australia called for the United Nations Security Council to deal with North Korea's human rights violations, a news report said Saturday.

Ambassadors from the three countries to the U.N. sent a joint letter to the president of the Security Council on July 17, which called on the U.N. body to formally discuss a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights violations in the North, according to the Voice of America (VOA).

Following a year-long probe, the COI published a report in March, accusing North Korea of "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights." It added that North Korean leaders' crimes against humanity should be dealt with by the International Criminal Court.

They also urged the Security Council to take proper actions against the North's appalling track record on human rights, the VOA added.

The U.N. plans to set up a field office in South Korea this year in a bid to monitor human rights violations in North Korea and raise public awareness about the issue.

(Yonhap)