Dec. 10 (UPI) -- North Korea defended its record on human rights on United Nations Human Rights Day, claiming its policies draw the respect of the international community.
North Korea's official government newspaper, Minju Choson, said Thursday that the Kim Jong-un regime is a "nation that has realized genuine human rights" where the freedoms of ordinary North Korean are valued.
"Our Republic is a true country of the people that values people above all else in the world," Minju Choson said.
It added, "We are a powerful nation possessed of high dignity that guarantees the democratic freedoms of the masses and the highest standards for rights, a country that protects and realizes human rights."
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North Korean state media also claimed the regime's standards for rights "elicits the admiration" of the international community. The statement did not refer to a recent North Korean human rights bill that has been sponsored by a committee of U.N. member states.
North Korean propaganda service Naenara also mentioned human rights Thursday, connecting rights to disaster relief and the rebuilding of homes in the countryside after heavy floods destroyed villages.
"Protecting people's lives from natural disasters is a high priority issue in human rights," Naenara said. "Amid natural disasters sweeping the world, the building of new homes is becoming the measure of a genuine realization of human rights."
The U.N. General Assembly has adopted the North Korean Human Rights Resolution every year since 2005. The resolution, which condemns North Korean practices of forced labor, abductions and arbitrary detention, will be presented at a session of the General Assembly this month.
Ahead of Human Rights Day, North Korean defector Kim Myong said in an article published by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, a U.S. advocacy group, North Koreans are "still suffering from tyranny."
Kim Jong-un has "degraded" the North Korean population into slavery, Kim Myong said.
