In an informal session... America discusses with members of the Security Council human rights violations in North Korea

The United States will convene an informal meeting of members of the United Nations Security Council next week on human rights abuses in North Korea, a move likely to infuriate Pyongyang and be opposed by China and Russia.

"North Korea's human rights violations and abuses threaten international peace and security and are directly linked to the illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes," the United States and Albania said in a note seen by Reuters regarding the meeting to be held next Friday.

Albania is currently an elected member of the Security Council and is co-hosting the meeting with the United States.

The 15-member Security Council has regularly discussed human rights in North Korea since 2014, but China and Russia object to raising the issue in the council.

Pyongyang rejects Western accusations of human rights abuses and blames the sanctions for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.

North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions over its missile and nuclear programs since 2006.

North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on next week's meeting.

international tension

According to the US-Albanian memorandum, the purpose of the informal meeting is to highlight rights violations and "identify opportunities for the international community to advance accountability."

They said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government responded with more isolation and repression, including shoot-to-kill orders.

"The North Korean government has increased its efforts to suppress basic freedoms and the free flow of information, with reports of thousands of new arrests and harsh imprisonment. Today there are reportedly between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners in North Korea," the memo said.

The meeting comes amid rising international tensions, with Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, threatening to turn the Pacific into a "fire range" and warning that any move to shoot down North Korea's experimental missiles would be a declaration of war.

Pyongyang has launched dozens of ballistic missiles in the past year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, but China and Russia oppose any further action by the Security Council, and maintain that putting more pressure on North Korea would not be constructive.

The two countries vetoed a US-led push to impose more UN sanctions on North Korea in May last year.