North Korea criticises Australia's human rights record

The North Korean delegation said Australia had to do more to 'cease the maltreatment of and violence against the refugees'

North Korean soldiers march on Kim Il-Sung square during a military parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean war armistice in Pyongyang (Getty)

North Korea has criticised Australia at a human rights review known as the "Universal Periodic Review".

The North Korean delegation said Australia had to do more to "cease the maltreatment of and violence against the refugees, including sexual violence by the officials in detention centres."

They also recommended Australia end racism and racial discrimination, particularly against Indigenous people, Buzzfeed reports.

While more than 100 countries expressed their concerns about Australia's asylum seeker policy, North Korea's condemnation appears hypocritical, as the "Hermit Kingdom" has been heavily criticised for its own human rights violations.

It has been accused of abducting and forcibly repatriating defectors living in South Korea and China by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reports tens of thousands of North Korean citizens are enslaved and tortured in the regime's gulags.

Their website describes the situation: "Under its leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea is violating every conceivable human right.

"The government represses all forms of freedom of expression and opinion; it does not allow any organised political opposition, independent media, free trade unions, civil society organisations, or religious freedom.

"As well as widespread and systematic human rights violations, North Korea is also suffering from a food crisis. There is mass malnourishment and reports of people starving to death are common."