China fails to block UN meeting on DPRK rights abuses

UNITED NATIONS, United States: China failed on Friday to block a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the human rights crisis in North Korea despite support from Russia and three other countries.

China, Angola, Egypt, Russia and Venezuela voted to scrap the meeting, but nine countries including Britain, France and the United States supported the move in the 15-member council. Senegal abstained.

Beijing has failed three times to stop the meeting held annually at the Security Council since a UN commission of inquiry in 2014 accused Pyongyang of committing atrocities unparalleled in the modern world.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi argued that the council should focus on threats to global peace and security, saying North Korea´s human rights situation should not be considered as such a menace.

"The Security Council is not a forum for discussing human rights issues and still less for the politicization of the human rights issues," he said.

This discussion is "detrimental, with no benefit whatsoever," he added, urging council members to "avoid making any rhetoric or actions that may provoke or lead to escalation of the tensions."

Pyongyang´s sole ally and trade partner, China has long argued that international efforts should firmly focus on talks to denuclearize North Korea.