North Korea is as bad as the Nazis, says UN report – but their Chinese allies tell human rights body to mind its own business

Chief author blasted nation's torture 'contending with scourges of Nazism'

Called for International Criminal Court action to close political prison camps

Said North Korean security chiefs and Kim Jong Un should face justice



China, also condemned in report, said findings are 'divorced from reality'

The crimes of North Korea’s regime are as chilling as those of the Nazis, claims the head of a UN inquiry.



In a report based on testimony from hundreds of victims and defectors, investigators said North Korean security chiefs and even Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un should face international justice.

The use of systematic torture, starvation, and killings is akin to punishments ordered under Adolf Hitler, the report stated.

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Condemnation: Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un should face international justice, the UN report's author said

However, China has rubbished the report, sparking fears that the nation's veto could derail attempts to tackle the crisis.

Launching the scathing 400-page report in Geneva today, chief author and former judge Michael Kirby told a UN forum: 'Contending with the scourges of Nazism, apartheid, the Khmer Rouge and other affronts required courage by great nations and ordinary human beings alike.



'It is now your solemn duty to address the scourge of human rights violations and crimes against humanity in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.'

He demanded closure of political prison camps believed to hold up to 120,000 people, and action by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

But Chen Chuandong, a counsellor at China's mission in Geneva, told the U.N. Human Rights Council that the independent commission of inquiry had made unfounded accusations and recommendations that were 'divorced from reality'.



'The inability of the commission to get support and cooperation from the country concerned makes it impossible for the commission to carry out its mandate in an impartial, objective and effective manner,' Chen said.



China, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, would have the power to veto any move to refer North Korea to the Hague-based ICC.



The report blasts the nation's use of systematic torture as akin to Nazism, apartheid and the Khmer Rouge

Diplomats had already warned China was likely to object to the report, which also criticised Beijing for its treatment of North Korean defectors.

Despite the setback, Mr Kirby said he was convinced North Korea's leadership would eventually face the ICC for crimes documented in the commission's archives, which hold the testimonies of hundreds of witnesses.



'I have lived long enough to see things that looked impossible come to full fruit,' Kirby told a news conference.



'The independence of East Timor, the independence of the Baltic states and other steps following the fall of the Berlin Wall are all indications that things can happen that don't look certain now.



'They won't meet media deadlines but they will occur.'



The forum, which commissioned the unprecedented investigation a year ago, will decide on how to handle North Korea at a session lasting until March 28.



Setback: China, which was also condemned in the report, rubbished the findings as 'divorced from reality'

Campaigners have hailed the report, and urged international leaders to take action.



'The fact that these violations are now deemed to be crimes against humanity triggers the responsibility of the international community to respond,' said Julie de Rivero of Human Rights Watch.



'It might be a long route but steps need to be taken.'

So far, the U.N. Security Council has focused only on North Korea's nuclear weapons and proliferation threat, she added.



'We are advocating that the Security Council needs to deal with crimes in North Korea.'

Roseann Rife of Amnesty International said in a statement: 'This is the first real test of the international community to show it is serious about acting on the Commission of Inquiry's chilling findings.

