China Opposes UN Security Council Meeting on North Korea

China opposes a planned United Nations Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea because it will only "intensify confrontation and antagonism," a spokesperson for China's UN mission in New York said on Monday.

The United States, Albania and Japan requested the meeting, which will be held on Thursday. It will be the first formal public meeting of the 15-member council on the issue since 2017, Reuters reported.

"China sees no added value for the council to have such a meeting and will be against it," said China's UN mission spokesperson, adding that the council's mandate was "maintenance of international peace and security, not human rights."