North Korea will come under scrutiny tomorrow at the UN Security Council in the first-ever meeting on its dismal rights record, amid calls for Pyongyang to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Until now, the top UN body has focused on North Korea's nuclear program as a security threat, but the scope has widened to human rights following the release of a UN commission of inquiry report.

US Ambassador Samantha Power says the UN report released in February confirmed that the human rights violations in North Korea are among the worst in the world and they are widespread and systematic.