An international human rights watchdog urged North Korea to improve its human rights record while demanding that China stop repatriating North Korean defectors to the communist regime.

The Human Rights Watch issued the statement to welcome the adoption of a resolution by the UN's Commission on Human Rights that expresses deep concerns about the torture, summary execution and detention of civilians in the North.

The watchdog added it is high time for Pyongyang to open its door to foreign investors as well as human rights investigators.

It also urged China to allow the UN to interview those near the North Korean border hoping to enter China and provide humanitarian assistance to them.