SEOUL, South Korea on Saturday hailed the appointment of Elizabeth Salmon as the new U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights.

"The government expects Salmon will contribute to the international society's efforts to improve North Korea's human rights situations with her expertise and experience from years of activities in the academia and the U.N. human rights field as an expert in the fields of democracy, human rights and law," a spokesman for Seoul's foreign ministry said in a commentary.

"The government will continue its efforts to improve North Korea's human rights conditions in close coordination with the international society while actively cooperating with the new U.N. special rapporteur."

Salmon, director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, was appointed as the new rapporteur during the 50th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council held Friday (U.S. time). Her one-year term begins on Aug. 1 and can be extended for up to six years.

The special rapporteur position was first created in 2004 to investigate and report to the U.N. Human Rights Council and General Assembly on the human rights situation in the reclusive regime in light of international human rights law.

Source: Yonhap News Agency