ARIRANG NEWS 20:00 UN Security Council adds N. Korea human rights issues to agenda

• published: 23 Dec 2014
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ARIRANG NEWS 20:00 In the headlines... The U.N. Security Council adopts North Korea′s human rights abuse as an agenda item for the first time... in an 11-2 vote with China and Russia voting against the idea as expected. Fitch Ratings says Korea has room left for more rate cuts while adding the country does not have to worry about deflationary pressure for now. We give you an exclusive with the ratings agency. And Pope Francis criticizes Vatican bureaucracy... saying "a church that doesn′t try to improve is like a sick body." Title: UN Security Council adds N. Korea human rights issues to agenda The United Nations Security Council has decided to put North Korea′s human rights violations on its agenda… And that means the topic can be brought up anytime when deemed necessary for the next three years. China and Russia were the only two countries that voted against the move. Connie Lee starts us off. It′s official North Korea′s human rights issues are now part of the UN Security Council′s agenda. "The DPRK is in effect a totalitarian state which uses violence and repression against its own citizens to maintain itself... The regime′s atrocities against its own people have created an inherently unstable state." Members of the council voted on Monday to formally take up the issue of Pyongyang′s alleged human rights abuses, despite objections from China and Russia. However, there are no vetoes in procedural votes... like this one, where an agenda is being set... so the other members were able to override the objections. This is the first time that the top UN body has taken up North Korea′s human rights issues. Previously, discussions on Pyongyang were solely centered on the North′s nuclear weapons program, but now all aspects of the country will be monitored and discussed. The latest ruling could also serve as a prelude to punitive measures against Pyongyang in the future,... as it comes a matter of days after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court... for alleged crimes against humanity. North Korea, which has refused to cooperate at every step, quickly denounced the decision. Monday′s vote follows a stinging UN report released in February that said North Koreans face "unspeakable atrocities." These include forced labor in the country′s prison camps, deliberate starvation, executions and torture. This latest move ramps up international pressure on Pyongyang to, finally, treat its own people better. Connie Lee, Arirang News. Title: N. Korea experiencing major Internet outages North Korea′s Internet was unplugged for about ten hours on this Tuesday... although it′s partially back online now. Some speculate Washington′s involvement in this... after the recent hacking attack on Sony Pictures. Shin Se-min has more. "We will respond proportionally and in a place and time and manner that we will choose." Days after U.S. Presid