The US has always used human rights issues to contain countries that don't play by its rules. And the UN-mandated human rights report provides the US with a golden opportunity to target the DPRK and use it as an excuse for its rebalancing strategy.

Nevertheless, a lot will depend on how China responds to the report. China, too, is used to being criticized by the US on human rights issues. And the US and the ROK have been criticizing China for repatriating DPRK citizens who illegally cross into its territory to their country. Now, the report condemns China for doing so, putting additional pressure on the Chinese government to change its policy.

In February 2012, the ROK formally raised the issue of DPRK "defectors" at the UN, putting China in an awkward diplomatic position. And since the COI report is scheduled to be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council on March 17, China should prepare to counter any accusation that the council levels against it.

Bilateral relations between countries, big and small, should be based on mutual respect and one side should not try to gain the upper hand on the other by using narrowly defined human rights issues. The purpose of safeguarding human rights in a country is to ensure that its people live a better life, and not to interfere in its internal affairs.

As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference on Feb 17, a country's human rights record cannot be improved by raising the human rights issue against it at the International Criminal Court; human rights issues should be resolved through constructive dialogue on an equal footing.

The author is an associate researcher at the Research Center of Northeast Asian Studies, Jilin Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.