North Korea is not pleased with a conference planned for Tuesday in Washington, D.C., during which the country's human rights abuses will be discussed, according to CBS News. North Korea claims the United States has denied Pyongyang's request to attend and defend itself, but conference organizers maintain the event is open to the public.
North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Jang Il Hun said on Monday that Pyongyang has asked the U.S. to "immediately scrap the so-called conference," according to CBS News. The conference is hosted by the nonprofit Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) and includes speakers like Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.
Korea chair at CSIS Victor Cha said he was confused by Jang's comments. "We issued no specific invitations to anyone," he said, according to CBS News.
Jang said the U.S. State Department told him that the conference was not being held by the government. "That means our request was denied," Jang said, according to CBS News.
North Korea said it believes the United States is using human rights issues as a ploy to overthrow the Korean government and suggested that the U.S. look into the CIA's "torture crimes" instead.
In December, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution that would result in North Korea's alleged human rights violations being looked at by the International Criminal Court. Kim Jong-un could be tried for crimes against humanity.
On Monday, according to CBS News, Jang said with a smile, "We are not guilty of any crime."
Greg Scarlatoiu, another event organizer with the Washington, D.C.-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said he has not been contacted by North Korea. "I find it encouraging that North Korea is paying attention to a conference commemorating one year since the release of the report, since they've been unwilling to accept the commission of inquiry," he said.
