United Nations Security Council to meet on North Korea abuses

United Nations: The UN Security Council will hold a meeting this month to discuss human rights violations in North Korea, only the second such session, the US mission to the United Nations said Thursday.

Nine Security Council members including Britain, France and the United States called for the meeting in a letter addressed to this month's council president US Ambassador Samantha Power, ramping up the pressure on the highly secretive state.

"We believe it is critical for the council to continue to shine a light on the abuses in North Korea and speak regularly about the DPRK's human rights situation -- and what we can do to change it -- for as long as the crimes committed there persist," Power said.

US mission spokeswoman Hagar Chemali said the United States would work quickly to schedule the meeting.

Last year, Pyongyang's sole major ally China sought to block the first-ever meeting on the issue by calling a procedural vote on putting North Korea's human rights situation on the council's agenda.