China strongly hinted Tuesday that it would veto a United Nations resolution holding North Korea’s leadership responsible for crimes against humanity, dashing hopes for the international community to act on the North’s grim human rights record.

A 400-page U.N. report, published last month, criticized the North’s regime for committing “crimes against humanity,” citing widespread execution of people, torture and sexual violence.

The United States, the European Union and Japan are working to bring North Korea’s human rights situation before the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but prospects have remained elusive because China, key ally of the North, holds a veto.

Asked whether China would veto a U.N. resolution on North Korea’s human rights abuses at the Security Council, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters that Beijing would “oppose politicizing the issue of human rights and intervening in the internal affairs of a country.”

Hong reiterated China’s stance, saying, “To bring the human right issues to the International Criminal Court does not help improve a country’s human rights conditions.”

China has publicly said that it would oppose any move at the U.N. to bring North Korea’s leaders before the global criminal court.

The U.N. commission’s report, after a year-long investigation, marks the clearest indictment against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, in his speech at the U.N. human rights session early this month, proposed strengthening the role of the U.N. commission on North Korea’s human rights.

“For the international community, it is now time to begin the discussions on next steps to effectively follow up on the commission’s recommendations to improve the human rights situation in North Korea,” Yun said.

“In this vein, we strongly support the strengthening of the U.N. mechanisms to implement the commission’s recommendations. We also look forward to the leading role of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea,” Yun said. (Yonhap)