Updated

A draft resolution for the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee encourages the Security Council to consider referring the situation in North Korea to the International Criminal Court.

A draft copy obtained Thursday by The Associated Press says the council should follow the recommendations of a U.N. commission of inquiry report earlier this year that was harshly critical of the impoverished and reclusive regime.

A key recommendation of the report was an ICC referral.

That report increased international pressure on North Korea over its human rights situation, and a North Korean briefing this week at the U.N. on human rights was seen as an effort to get ahead of the expected General Assembly resolution.

The resolution was drafted by the European Union and Japan.