South Korea has called on North Korea to improve its human rights situation at a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.

During the ongoing council session, a South Korean delegate urged the North to take steps to ease global concerns about its human rights situation.

The Foreign Ministry said the call reaffirms Seoul's basic stance on human rights.

The South Korean government had previously avoided pressing the North on its rights conditions. Last year, it said only it would work to improve living conditions of the North Korean people in line with inter-Korean cooperation policies.