South Korea’s top nuclear envoy met with Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, in Seoul on Thursday to discuss ways to improve North Korean human rights, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

Lee Jun-il, director general for Korean Peninsula policy, and Turner shared assessments of the human rights situation in North Korea, the ministry said in a press release.

The two sides agreed to utilize the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of North Korea in November to publicize various rights violations in the international community.

They also explored solutions for North Korea’s forced labor problems and discussed expanding human rights engagement with the Global South, which includes emerging and developing countries primarily in the southern hemisphere.

Lee said South Korea is making the utmost efforts to raise awareness for North Korean defectors, such as designating July 14 as the day for North Korean defectors.

He also thanked Turner for h
er consistent communication with defectors and her dedicated efforts regarding South Korean abductees, detainees and prisoners of the 1950-53 Korean War, all held in North Korea.

It was the first director-level meeting between South Korea and the U.S. on human rights issue following the reorganization of the ministry. Lee recently held director-level bilateral consultations on North Korean human rights with Canada.

Source: Yonhap News Agency