The U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea hopes that next week's six-party nuclear talks will help improve human rights conditions in the communist country.

Vitit Muntarbhorn on Thursday made the remarks to reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport for his visit to a South Korean resettlement center for North Korean defectors.

During his five-day trip to South Korea, Muntarbhorn plans to collect detailed information on the North Korean human rights situation on such issues as treatment of defectors, Seoul’s food aid and kidnappings to the North.

The U.N. envoy said that he would report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on his Seoul visit by January. The report will be released in March.