North Korea said Wednesday it would send back on "humanitarian" grounds a South Korean who had crossed illegally into its territory.

The North's state news agency KCNA said Ma Sang-Ho, 52, had entered the country in late November but gave no further details.

Sony Pictures said Tuesday it will screen madcap comedy "The Interview" in some U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, a dramatic U-turn after its widely criticized decision to cancel the film following a cyber-assault blamed on North Korea.

North Korea's Internet went dark for several hours amid rumors of U.S. retaliation over its alleged hacking of a Hollywood studio, just as the pariah state came under attack at the U.N. over its rights record.

It was not clear who or what had shut down Pyongyang's web connections, but cyber experts said the country's already limited Internet went completely offline overnight from Monday to Tuesday local time.

The United States on Monday slammed North Korea as a "living nightmare" for its citizens at the first-ever U.N. Security Council meeting on Pyongyang's dismal rights record, held despite opposition from China.

The unprecedented talks at the 15-member council opened after China, Pyongyang's ally, failed to block the meeting, which convened even as North Korea faces US accusations of staging a cyber attack on a Hollywood Studio.

The United States urged North Korea on Monday to admit it ordered a cyberattack on the Hollywood studio Sony Pictures and to pay for the damage it had caused.

China condemned "cyber terrorism" on Monday after U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to consider officially labeling North Korea, accused by Washington of hacking Sony Pictures, a state sponsor of terrorism.

North Korea threatened Sunday to hit back at the White House and other U.S. targets if Washington sanctions it for an alleged hacking attack.

North Korea's alleged hack of Sony Pictures was not an act of war, President Barack Obama said in an interview aired Sunday, as Pyongyang threatened reprisals if targeted with sanctions. 

Obama's Republican critics have accused North Korea of waging "cyber warfare" by targeting Sony, urging the president to respond robustly to the crisis.

North Korea comes under scrutiny Monday at the U.N. Security Council in the first-ever meeting on its dismal rights record, amid calls for Pyongyang to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Until now, the top U.N. 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 U.N. commission of inquiry report.

The United States has dismissed a call by North Korea for a joint investigation into the hacking of Sony Pictures and wants China to help block cyber attacks from Pyongyang.

Washington blames North Korea for a breach of cyber security at Sony which led to the release of embarrassing emails and prompted executives to halt the release of "The Interview".