North Korea wants to punish America for its 'inhuman' torture program

North Korea is hoping to score some easy points at the U.N. off the CIA's torture program.

On Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesperson for North Korea requested that the U.N. censure the U.S., The Telegraph reports. In an editorial published in the state's news service KCNA, North Korea also accused the U.N. Security Council of "turning its face from the inhuman torture practiced by the CIA." If the U.N. was "shutting its eyes to the serious human rights issue in the U.S.," it was only showing itself as a "tool for U.S. arbitrary practices," the editorial said.

There's obvious political maneuvering going on here. Pyongyang is reportedly growing increasingly concerned that it will be punished by the U.N. for its voluminous record of human rights abuses; it's evidently hoping to turn the U.S. Senate report on CIA torture into a veritable get-out-of-jail-free card.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up