The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations by North Korea and calling for efforts to address the matter.
The General Assembly passed the resolution by consensus without a vote for the 15th consecutive year.
The non-binding resolution "condemns the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by North Korea.
The resolution, drafted by European Union member states, also denounces the use of torture as well as inhumane conditions of detention, rape, public executions and the existence of an extensive system of political prison camps.
It encourages the UN Security Council to "take appropriate action to ensure accountability," including by considering referring the North Korean situation to the International Criminal Court.
The text also calls on the Security Council to consider further sanctions to target "those who appear to be most responsible for human rights violations," an apparent reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea's UN Ambassador Kim Song immediately protested the resolution.
Kim told the General Assembly that the resolution has nothing to do with the genuine promotion and protection of human rights, calling it an "impure product of political plots" by hostile forces that seek to tarnish the dignity and image of North Korea and overthrow its social system.
China, Russia and Venezuela also voiced opposition to the resolution.