The United States offered congratulations Tuesday on the opening in Seoul of a U.N. office aimed at monitoring human rights violations in North Korea, saying it will lay the groundwork for bringing those responsible to justice.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights launched the field office earlier in the day to monitor and document human rights violations in the North. The office's establishment was one of the recommendations the U.N. Commission of Inquiry made in its landmark report last year.

"Today we also want to congratulate the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the opening of its new field office in Seoul. And we thank the Republic of Korea for hosting this office," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a regular press briefing.

The new office will continue the documentation work initiated by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the North's human rights situation and such efforts "will lay the groundwork for bringing to account those responsible for atrocities in the DPRK," he said.

Kirby also called the establishment of the office "an important step" in implementing COI recommendations.

North Korea strongly protested the establishment of the U.S. office, calling it a "hideous politically-motivated provocation challenging the dignity and social system" of the communist nation and "a criminal act of escalating tensions."

Pyongyang's foreign ministry also threatened to take the "toughest counteractions," albeit unspecified.

"We've seen the threatening comments made by North Korean officials regarding this field office that's being stood up. And obviously, we certainly have deep concerns about those comments and would just reiterate that they do nothing to help the security and stability on the Korean peninsula," Kirby said.

"This office is all about trying to help -- potentially down the road help hold those accountable, those who are responsible for human rights violations in the North. That's a good thing. Again, we welcome the standup of this office, and it's in nobody's interest to do anything to interfere with that work," he said.

The North's human rights problem has drawn greater international attention since the COI report said that North Korean leaders are responsible for "widespread, systematic and gross"

violations of human rights and the International Criminal Court should handle North Korea's "crimes against humanity."

The report led the U.N. General Assembly to adopt a landmark resolution calling for referring the issue to the International Criminal Court. The U.N. Security Council also took up the issue for the first time last December.

Pyongyang has long been labeled as one of the worst human rights violators. The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps tight control over outside information.

But the North has bristled at such criticism, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime. (Yonhap)