A meeting of foreign ministers on North Korea’s human rights issue will be held next Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
 
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday requested that UN member states take part in the meeting which he said will center on the North’s human rights violations.
 
The upcoming meeting would mark the first time for a high-level meeting on the North’s human rights issue to be held during the UN General Assembly period.
 
Kerry has been pressuring the North to address its nuclear issue as well as matters concerning human rights. While discussing Washington’s foreign affairs policy concerning Asia last month, he called for the immediate closure of labor camps in the North. 
 
Next week, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech as the first foreign minister from the North to attend the UN General Assembly since 1999.