The U.N. human rights chief declared recently that it was time for a "long overdue" investigation into what she called unparalleled rights abuses in North Korea. The probe, unprecedented in scope, could help establish whether Pyongyang's leaders are committing crimes against humanity.
Navi Pillay's January proposal has already drawn support from the United States. But the decision has proved sensitive in still-undecided South Korea, where leaders remain divided over whether to confront the North or try to somehow reduce tensions with it, even after Pyongyang last week detonated an underground nuclear device.
Relations between the two countries appeared to deteriorate further Feb. 19, when a North Korean diplomat threatened the South with "total destruction" during a U.N. disarmament conference in Geneva.