North Korea told the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Wednesday that it would consider any discussion of the country's human rights situation a "serious provocation" and Pyongyang would "react strongly".
North Korea's UN Ambassador Kim Sung delivered the warning in a message seen by Reuters.
Several members of the 15-member council are planning to hold a meeting this month on human rights abuses in North Korea, according to diplomats.
“Any meeting on human rights would be an act of complicity in support of US’s hostile policy, which would lead to undermining rather than helping reduction of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and resolution of the nuclear issue,” North Korea leader Kim Jong Un wrote in the letter.
It is worth mentioning that, any request for a meeting in the Security Council needs the approval of at least nine members to overcome any attempt to block it.
China, which has veto power on the council, was unable to block the annual debate from 2014 to 2017.
North Korea has repeatedly denied accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for the country's dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs.
The United States holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for December.
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