Russia and China on Thursday failed to prevent a UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea.

Russia and China on Thursday failed to prevent a UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea.

In a procedural vote on whether to hold the meeting, nine council members - the US, Britain, France, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain - voted in favor of convening the session.

Thursday's meeting was the second formal council meeting on the issue, following its decision last year to add the situation in North Korea to its agenda as a separate item.

Nigeria and Chad abstained from the procedural vote, while Russia, China, Venezuela and Angola opposed the session.

Nine votes are required to win a procedural vote, in which a negative vote cast by any of the five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- does not invalidate a decision, unlike resolutions.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called on the council to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court, citing gross human rights violations, "the institutional nature and severity of which pose a threat to international peace and security".

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said the Security Council’s discussion was a "a step in the right direction".

"Of course, Russia and China will not easily abandon their opposition. But the UN Security Council’s regular debate of the human rights abuses in North Korea as a threat to international peace and security raises the political cost of inaction," the watchdog said in a press release.