China opposes the upcoming U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting to discuss North Korean human rights abuses, a spokesperson for China’s mission to the U.N. told NK News on Tuesday. 

The statement comes after the U.S., Japan and Albania requested a UNSC meeting on DPRK human rights last week. Scheduled to be held this Thursday, the meeting will be the first UNSC session to discuss the issue in five years. 

“A Council meeting on human rights in the DPRK falls outside the Council’s mandate, politicizes human rights issues and only serves to intensify confrontation and antagonism,” the Chinese mission’s spokesperson said.