South Korea has welcomed the ratification of a resolution by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee condemning North Korea for systematic human rights violations.

Seoul’s foreign ministry on Thursday said that Seoul actively contributed to drafting the resolution as a co-sponsor, the first time in four years that it had taken on the role, and praised its unanimous adoption by the committee to be voted on in the General Assembly next month.

The ministry highlighted the addition to this year’s version of a demand that Pyongyang release all information pertaining to foreign nationals who have been subjected to human rights violations by the regime to their families and national governments.

It added that the resolution also called on the regime to refrain from subjecting repatriated North Koreans to human rights violations such as torture and execution.