A U.N. human rights resolution on North Korea sends a clear message to Pyongyang that the international community is paying attention to the problem and those most responsible must be held accountable, the State Department said Wednesday.

The resolution, which calls for referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations, passed through the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, a move that almost guaranteed its formal adoption at the General Assembly.

"We think this resolution sends a clear message from the international community that the DPRK (North Korea)'s egregious violations of human rights are not going unnoticed by the international community and that those most responsible must be held accountable," Jeff Rathke, a State Department spokesman, said at a regular press briefing.

"We continue to work with the international community to sustain international attention on the deplorable human rights situation in North Korea and to seek to find ways to advance accountability for the serious violations that have been and that continue to be committed," he said.

North Korea angrily reacted to the resolution, threatening to conduct nuclear tests. 

Asked for comment on the threat, Rathke said he was not familiar with the statement, but added "it would certainly be unfortunate to threaten with that kind of activity in response to the legitimate focus on North Korea's human rights situation by the international community."

He also said that while the U.S. takes the North's human rights problem seriously, ending Pyongyang's nuclear program is the top priority with respect to North Korea.

The spokesman said that the U.S. position remains unchanged on the long-stalled nuclear talks with North Korea that the communist nation should take concrete steps demonstrating its denuclearization commitments before the talks reopen.

"We're not interested in talks for talk's sake only," he said.