The British government has designated North Korea as one of its human rights priority watch countries along with 29 others, a media report said Friday.

In its 2015 human rights and democracy report, the British foreign office said North Korea has been placed on its priority list along with such countries as China, Iran and Afghanistan. The countries mentioned have been cited in the past for not adequately protecting human rights, often creating a cycle of suffering, instability and poverty.

This is the first time that the British government has adopted this kind of human rights watch system, according to Washington-based Voice of American.

Claiming the human rights situation in North Korea showed no signs of improvement in 2015, London said the Pyongyang regime continued to reject the findings and recommendations of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report, and to protest against resolutions passed by the U.N. Human Rights Council and U.N. Security Council.

"It persisted in rejecting serious engagement with the international community and did not undertake any notable measures to improve the domestic human rights situation," the report said.

The COI report of 2014 found evidence of torture, executions, arbitrary incarceration, deliberate starvation, enslavement and other appalling practices that the COI said amounted to "crimes against humanity."

The latest findings then said human rights remain a priority for its North Korea policy in 2016, adding, "We will continue to work with like-minded partners to urge the DPRK government to accept the existence and extent of their human rights violations, and to demonstrate a willingness to take steps to address these issues." (Yonhap)