China Dismisses U.N. Report on North Korea Abuses

The Chinese government has dismissed a U.N. report published in February that accused North Korea of committing major human rights abuses against its citizens.

The report detailed many allegations of abuse in the pariah state, including state-sanctioned torture and executions. But a counselor at China’s mission in Geneva, Chen Chuandong, told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday that it was questionable whether the inquiry could be “truly credible” when much of the information was gathered from victims, defectors and witnesses had come from outside of North Korea’s borders.

The gesture confirmed the international community’s fears that Beijing will try to prevent Pyongyang from prosecution, reports Reuters.

[Reuters]