A United Nations committee passed a draft resolution Tuesday introduced by Japan and the European Union denouncing North Korea's human rights violations and seeking to bring the country's top leaders before the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity.
The U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee on human rights has passed similar resolutions over the past ten years, but this year's document contains the harshest condemnation yet, reflecting the commission of inquiry's lengthy report in February that detailed North Korea's alleged rights violations.
The draft resolution apparently angered North Korea, prompting Pyongyang to initiate a series of diplomatic actions to urge the EU to modify the text, which was circulated last month among committee members.