South Korea is pressing North Korea to take necessary measures to address its abysmal human rights record at a regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In his keynote speech in Geneva Tuesday, Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo said the Seoul government shares the concern of the international community regarding the dire human rights conditions in North Korea. He urged the North to fully comply with its human rights obligations set out by international human rights law.

A foreign ministry official in Seoul said that although South Korea’s tone was similar to that of years past, the vice minister did put an increased emphasis on the severity of the situation in the North.