N. Korea dismisses UN human rights resolution as US-led plot
Pyongyang warns the US, the European Union and Japan of "unpredictable consequences" for leading the move.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFKim Jong Il 298.88(photo credit: AP)
North Korea on Saturday rejected a UN resolution condemning Pyongyang's alleged human rights abuses as a US-led political plot and warned the US, the European Union and Japan of "unpredictable consequences" for leading the move.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued the harsh warning, labeling the resolution - passed at the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday - as a "politically motivated document...full of sheer lies and fabrications."
Pyongyang "sternly refutes the resolution as it is a product of the anti-(North Korea) political plot hatched by the EU and Japan at the prodding of the US," the ministry said, according to the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
"The US, the EU and Japan will be held fully accountable for all the unpredictable consequences," the state news agency said, without elaborating on what those consequences might be.
The warning came a day after North Korea test-fired a barrage of short-range missiles into waters off its western coast in an apparent response to the new South Korean government's tougher stance on Pyongyang.
South Korea also voted in favor of the resolution, but the North's ministry made no mention of that.
South Korea's conservative new President Lee Myung-bak took office last month with a pledge to not remain silent on the issue of the North's alleged human rights abuses. His liberal predecessors - Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun - had refrained from criticizing the North over concerns it could endanger reconciliation with Pyongyang.
In the resolution, the UN council expressed deep concern about continuing reports of systematic violations in the North. The council decided to extend the appointment of a UN expert to investigate the country for another year.
North Korea has strongly bristled at any criticism of its human rights record, claiming the allegations are part of Washington's attempt to overthrow its government and insisting human rights are fully guaranteed in the country.
