A senior Chinese official has strongly rejected an “unreasonable criticism” of Beijing in a new UN report on human rights violations in North Korea.
The remarks come after UN investigators said Beijing might be “aiding and abetting crimes against humanity” by sending North Korean defectors back to Pyongyang. The Chinese government has long portrayed North Korean defectors as criminals or economic migrants.
“Of course we cannot accept this unreasonable criticism,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a Press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, adding, “We believe that politicizing human rights issues is not conducive towards improving a country’s human rights.”
The developments come after the UN report said North Korean leaders should be prosecuted for grossly violating the rights of the nation.
The Beijing government says it will oppose any attempt to refer the North Korean leadership to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
China also says sending the report to The Hague will not resolve human rights situation. Beijing has instead called for resolving the issue through constructive dialog.
“We believe that taking human rights issues to the International Criminal Court is not helpful to improving a country’s human rights situation,” Hua noted.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang government has rejected the report, saying it is part of a hostile policy against the country and violations mentioned in it do not exist.
North Korean government also called the report a political plot by the EU and Japan in alliance with the US, which has a hostile policy toward the Asian country.
Pyongyang has pledged to respond to any attempt of regime change under the pretext of human rights protection.
Senior North Korean officials have often accused Washington of plotting with regional allies to topple the country’s government.
JR/PR
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