North Korea's regime is committing crimes against humanity including exterminating, starving and enslaving its population, and its leadership deserves to be hauled before an international court, a UN-mandated inquiry team said Monday.

"In many instances, the violations of human rights found by the commission constitute crimes against humanity," the team said in a report. "These are not mere excesses of the state; they are essential components of a political system that has moved far from the ideals on which it claims to be founded."