North Korea to skip UN Security Council

December 22, 2014 20:27

An angry North Korea, now on the defensive over a US accusation of hacking, is refusing to take part in a groundbreaking UN Security Council meeting today where the country's bleak human rights situation will be discussed for the first time.

International pressure has built this year on Pyongyang after a sprawling UN-backed inquiry of alleged crimes against humanity and warned that young leader Kim Jong Un could be held accountable.

And attention has focused on the North in recent days, as the Obama administration on Friday blamed it for the devastating hacking attack on Sony over the film "The Interview," which portrays Kim's assassination.

Now the 15-member Security Council is being urged to refer North Korea's human rights situation to the International Criminal Court, seen as a court of last resort for atrocities.

It's the boldest effort yet to confront Pyongyang over an issue it has openly disdained in the past.

Instead of a showdown, North Korea says it will not attend today's meeting.

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