US and Allies to Push for Formal Inquiry into North Korea's Human Rights Record

Could lead to the Stalinist regime being referred to the International Criminal Court

(Reuters) - The United States and its allies are applying a new form of pressure on North Korea, already facing a tightening ring of United Nationssanctions over its nuclear and missile tests: tougher U.N. censure of Pyongyang's human rights record.

In a move human rights advocates say is long overdue, the European Union and Japan are circulating a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva calling for a formal commission of inquiry into North Korea's record.