Members of the UN Security Council have condemned the human rights situation in North Korea, but Russia claims the United States and its allies are to blame.

The UN Security Council held an open meeting on North Korean human rights on Wednesday, at the request of member states including Japan, the US and South Korea.

South Korea's UN Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook, who holds this month's council presidency, slammed North Korea for continuing to "squander its material and human resources by indulging in opulent nuclear weapons development." He said the North was doing this "without any care for the livelihoods of its own people."

He noted that the total cost of North Korea's missile development and tests over the past year was more than the cost of a year's worth of food for its entire population.

Japan's UN Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki referred to the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea. He said: "The urgency of this situation is undeniable. I call upon the international community to unite in a concerted effort to secure the immediate return of all abductees."

Prior to the meeting, a total of 57 countries plus the European Union issued a joint statement criticizing North Korea's human rights violations.

Meanwhile, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated his claim that UN sanctions have worsened the human rights situation in North Korea. Russia has been strengthening ties with Pyongyang.

Nebenzia pointed out the US and its allies have been stepping up military activity in the region. He said numerous hostile acts "provoke a response from the North, which is forced to take measures to strengthen its national defensive potential."