But fearing that the West wants to prosecute their leader, Kim Jong Un, for human rights abuses, North Korean officials are beginning to rely on soft words instead of hard power.

The International Olympic Committee will require future host cities to abide by rules that forbid any kind of discrimination, a move prompted by the outcry caused by Russia's adoption of a law banning so-called gay "propaganda" ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The new clause — seen by The Associated Press — requires the host city and national Olympic committee to "conduct all activities in a manner which promotes and enhances the fundamental principles and values of Olympism, in particular the prohibition of any form of discrimination with regard to a co

While refugees poured across the border to China telling stories of starvation and torture, in the other direction — thanks to the merchants — came foreign films, television shows and music stored on DVDs and USBs, a link to the prosperity and ways of the outside world. These shifts gave rise to North Korea’s very own millennials, a generation born in the 1990s who are independent, pragmatic and less politically attached than their predecessors, says Park. They’re also known as the “Black Market Generation.”

The ministry said: "All of the actions that have been taken against the two Britons are consistent with the principles of human rights enshrined in the Constitution and the laws of the State of Qatar," according to QNA. "There is a direct contact between the Qatari Foreign Ministry and the investigating authorities with the British Embassy in Doha in this regard," the agency added. Qatar came under heavy criticism early this year over reported violations of the rights of migrants workers building 2022 World Cup projects.

Human Rights Watch, another nongovernmental watchdog group, reported that Islamic State has used cluster munitions in at least one location: in the town of Ayn Al-Arab, 80 miles northeast of Aleppo city. The use of such ordnance leaves many unexploded bomblets on the battlefield, posing a serious risk to civilians long after hostilities have ceased. The munitions, which eject smaller explosive bomblets over an area, were banned in 2010 through the Convention on Cluster Munitions, though many countries -- including the U.S.

North Korea is arguably one of the world's most racist societies, so it's with no small measure of irony that the country's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday bashed the United States for the happenings in Ferguson, Missouri, which has been gripped by unrest following the death of a black teenager at the hands of a white police officer.