An association of families of Korean and Japanese abductees kidnapped by North Korea will visit the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Committee to ask for its support in making contact with their loved ones.

The association will submit a letter to the committee asking it to confirm the whereabouts of the abductees in hopes that it will draw the world community's attention to their cause.

The association's chairwoman, Choi Woo-young, 31, said that she, another council member and Kazuhiro Araki, secretary general of the Japanese national council for abductees, will visit the Office of the U.N High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for five days from April 7.

This is the first time the families of those kidnapped by North Korea have appealed directly to an international agency for help.

Choi said they will continue to solidify their efforts to seek international cooperation on the matter, confirm whether the abductees are alive and introduce special laws for abductees and their families.