N. Korea says not guilty of rights abuses

North Korea has said it is not worried about being referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible human rights violations.

"We are not worried at all because we can strongly respond to such a move and we are not guilty of any crime," Jang Il Hun, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, told a press conference on Monday.

Jang also said his country would respond "very strongly" to a conference on Pyongyang's human rights abuses in Washington on Tuesday.

Pyongyang's ambassador said his country had asked the US government to "immediately scrap the so-called conference" hosted by the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), but that Washington had responded saying the conference was not a government one.

"This means our request was denied," Jang said. CSIS' Korea head Victor Cha, however, said the meeting was public and no specific invitations had been issued.

'Dire' rights situation

A spokesperson for the US State Department also said it was a privately organized event and added that the wide range of participants from around the world reflected "the international community's concern with the dire human rights situation in North Korea."

In January, a North Korean defector recounted his torture and escape from a prison camp in his country.

Last December, the United Nations General Assembly urged the Security Council to consider referring Pyongyang to the ICC for possible abuses. The head of the commission of inquiry also wrote to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warning that he could be charged with crimes against humanity.

At the time, North Korean diplomats proposed that the UN high commissioner for human rights could visit their country, provided they reviewed their vocabulary on Kim and the ICC. However, that opportunity had passed, Jang told journalists on Monday.

mg/cmk (Reuters, AP)