North Korean officials are seeking to have key lines deleted from a draft U.N. resolution that calls for a referral of Pyongyang's human rights abuses to the International Criminal Court and proposes sanctions against the country's top leaders, according to a U.N. investigator.
Marzuki Darusman, a special rapporteur of human rights in North Korea recounted his "unexpected" meeting on Monday with four officials from the country. They suggested making the changes in the document in exchange for an offer to visit the secluded country. He had previously been barred from visiting North Korea because of his human rights investigations.
The draft resolution has been circulated by Japan, the European Union and other co-sponsors at the U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee hearing on human rights issues, where Darusman delivered a report.