Geneva, Aug 12: The United States has requested a public UN Security Council meeting on August 17 to review North Korea’s human rights record and how it relates to global peace and security, Voice of America (VOA) reported. North Korea launched numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as a large number of ballistic missiles this year, according to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. North Korea frequently claims that the joint military drills between the United States and South Korea are to blame for the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and claims that its missile programme is designed to intimidate and “strike fear” into its adversaries, VOA reported. “We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in a joint interaction with the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan and Albania. “The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and the Republic of Korea,” the US envoy said about the systemic human rights abuses, VOA reported. The United States holds the 15-nation Security Council’s rotating presidency this month and Thomas-Greenfield has said that human rights would be the core theme. It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is “long overdue.” Russia and China often argue that the Security Council is not the correct UN venue to discuss human rights issues. But a senior US official who briefed reporters Thursday said none of the other forums focuses on the links between North Korea’s WMD (Weapon of mass destruction) and ballistic missile advancements, which is why the Security Council must be briefed on the issue, VOA reported.Geneva, Aug 12: The United States has requested a public UN Security Council meeting on August 17 to review North Korea’s human rights record and how it relates to global peace and security, Voice of America (VOA) reported. North Korea launched numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as a large number of ballistic missiles this year, according to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. North Korea frequently claims that the joint military drills between the United States and South Korea are to blame for the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula and claims that its missile programme is designed to intimidate and “strike fear” into its adversaries, VOA reported. “We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in a joint interaction with the ambassadors of South Korea, Japan and Albania. “The Security Council must address the horrors, the abuses and the crimes being perpetrated daily by the Kim regime against its own citizens, and people from other member states, including Japan and the Republic of Korea,” the US envoy said about the systemic human rights abuses, VOA reported. The United States holds the 15-nation Security Council’s rotating presidency this month and Thomas-Greenfield has said that human rights would be the core theme. It is the first time the council will hold a public session on the rights issue in the North Korea since 2017 and the US envoy said it is “long overdue.” Russia and China often argue that the Security Council is not the correct UN venue to discuss human rights issues. But a senior US official who briefed reporters Thursday said none of the other forums focuses on the links between North Korea’s WMD (Weapon of mass destruction) and ballistic missile advancements, which is why the Security Council must be briefed on the issue, VOA reported.