U.S. urges N. Korea to accept U.N. recommendations on human rights

The United States urged North Korea on Wednesday to take steps to improve its human rights record in accordance with recommendations in a landmark U.N. report on the situation.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report reflects the international community's "consensus view that the human rights situation in North Korea is among the world's worst."

"We urged North Korea to take concrete steps as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry to improve the human rights situation. We will continue to work with the international community to sustain international attention on the deplorable human rights situation in North Korea. And that is something that we remain committed to," she said at a regular press briefing.

Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the COI report.

The report called for handling the North's human rights abuses as "crimes against humanity" at the International Criminal Court. The report led later to the U.N. General Assembly adopting a resolution calling for referring the situation to the ICC.

The U.N. Security Council has also placed the issue on its agenda for ongoing attention.

North Korea has strongly protested against the COI report and the U.N. resolution, rejecting accusations of human rights abuses as evidence of hostile U.S. policy toward the communist regime. (Yonhap)