The U.S. Department of State has drafted this year’s report on human trafficking.

A diplomatic source in Washington said in the draft of its annual report on trafficking in persons, the State Department gave South Korea a spot in the top category in recognition of the country’s efforts to combat human trafficking.

The department had warned it would lower South Korea’s ranking below Category Two. However, it chose to keep South Korea in Category One for the government’s efforts to resolve the issue of foreign sailors being exploited for labor and the revision of a criminal law to strengthen punishment on human traffickers.

An official at the South Korean embassy in Washington said the U.S. government positively assessed the South Korean government’s efforts to fight human trafficking.

The department ranks countries around the world in terms of their anti-human trafficking efforts in the annual report.