North Korea on Monday strongly protested against the United Nations' plan to set up a field office in South Korea that will deal with North Korean human rights violations, threatening "merciless punishment" on those involved in the plan as well as workers at the envisioned office.

The South Korean foreign ministry said late last month that it has accepted a request by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up the office in South Korea as part of the international community's growing efforts to deal with the North Korean human rights issue.

On Monday, Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea issued a statement saying that the plan to install the U.N. office in the South is a scheme led by the United States and South Korea.

"If (anyone) disturbs our dignity or system and gets crazy about the anti-state human rights commotion, (we) will never tolerate them and mercilessly punish them regardless of whether they are the puppet group, its boss or anyone who belongs to whatever international organization," the statement said.

"The U.N. office on North Korean human rights to be installed in the South and its staff workers will be not an exception," the North warned.

South Korea will pay a hefty price for hosting the anti-state human rights office, it said.

"The U.N. office should not blame anyone else even after getting a shower of thunderous attacks. The responsibility for that wholly lies with those who plotted the (opening of) the den of slander and drew it to South Korea," it also noted.

It was the second reaction from North Korea over Seoul's recent acceptance of the U.N. office installation request, following its first criticism issued last week.

The decision to open the office came on the heels of a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) published in March, accusing North Korea of "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights." It also suggested the U.N. refer the issue to the International Criminal Court.

The field office plan is a follow-up step to the international community's mounting efforts to bring the North Korean regime to justice for its human rights violations.

The envisioned office in South Korea will have a staff of five or six officials and operate fully with a budget set by the U.N., according to South Korea's foreign ministry. (Yonhap)