Come On Over

N. Korea Proposes UN Human Rights Visit

To stave off ICC referral.

North Korean officials, who are under unprecedented scrutiny over the country’s human-rights record, met with United Nations investigator Marzuki Darusman, the first such meeting with a UN rights official in 10 years, and proposed the possibility of arranging a visit to the politically isolated nation by human-rights officials. The regime has been accused of murder, slavery, torture, sexual violence, mass starvation, and other crimes. Darusman cited such violations in a report submitted Tuesday to the UN General Assembly that said the country should be referred to the International Criminal Court. The international pressure has caused North Korean officials to go on a global blitz seeking to soften Pyongyang’s image.