Until now, the top UN body has focused on North Korea's nuclear program as a security threat, but the scope has widened to human rights following the release of a UN commission of inquiry report.
US Ambassador Samantha Power said the UN report released in February confirmed that "the human rights violations in North Korea are among the worst in the world. They are widespread. They are systematic".
"And - given the threat they pose to peace and security - they have been going on outside the scrutiny of the UN Security Council for far too long."
The unprecedented meeting comes as North Korea faces US accusations of staging a cyberattack on Sony Pictures that exposed embarrassing emails and scuttled the release of a movie.
Ten of the 15 council members pushed for North Korea to be put on the agenda, but Russia and China argued that rights concerns should be addressed at the UN Human Rights Council, and not the Security Council.
China is expected to again raise objections at the meeting.
"The Security Council is not the right place to discuss human rights issues, and to refer human rights issues to the
International Criminal Court will by no means solve the problems,"said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
Under UN procedures, North Korea can attend the council meeting and voice its views, but it has decided to stay away.
"We cannot recognise the Security Council meeting. Its mandate is not human rights," said political counsellor Kim Song from the North Korean mission at the United Nations.
"We will not attend," he told AFP.
The UN General Assembly put the international spotlight on North Korea when it adopted a landmark resolution on Thursday calling on the Security Council to consider referring North Korea to the ICC for crimes against humanity.
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