A UN General Assembly committee has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights situation for the 12th year in a row.

Seoul welcomed the UN’s move, calling on North Korea to take immediate action to improve its human rights records.

The approval of the resolution by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday paves the way for its passage at the UN General Assembly slated for next month. A resolution adopted by the committee is rarely turned down by the General Assembly.

If passed at the General Assembly, it will be the 12th year in a row that the chief UN body adopts a resolution calling on the North to improve its human rights situations.

This year’s resolution was adopted by consensus, not by vote as in the past, reflecting the international community's unanimous opinion on the seriousness of the North's human rights violations.

Co-sponsored by 59 countries, including South Korea, the resolution, for the third consecutive year, calls on the UN Security Council to refer the North Korean human rights situation to the International Criminal Court and to punish those responsible.

This year's resolution also says for the first time that violations are being committed by "institutions under the effective control of (the North's) leadership," indicating a clearer call on the need to clamp down on leader Kim Jong-un.

It is also the first time the resolution explicitly expresses concerns about the impact of diverting resources to advance nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs on the humanitarian and human rights situations; international abductees; and exploitation of workers sent abroad to work under stringent conditions.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry welcomed the adoption of the resolution. In a statement released Wednesday, the ministry said the strong-worded details of the resolution reflect the international community’s intent to send a strong warning message to Pyongyang over its obsession with nuclear and missile development.

The ministry also urged the North to take concrete and substantial measures to improve its human rights situation.

North Korea harshly criticized the resolution. After its passage, the deputy chief of Pyongyang's mission to the UN told a news conference that the purpose of the resolution is to eliminate the North.