Seoul: South Korea has joined as a co-sponsor of this year's U.N. resolution on North Korean human rights, the foreign ministry said Saturday, despite earlier expectations that Seoul might skip the move in line with its conciliatory gestures toward Pyongyang.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean government emphasized its commitment to cooperating with the international community to practically improve the human rights of North Korean residents. This decision was made in consultation with relevant government institutions.

The resolution, which is a collaborative effort by the European Union and Australia, is anticipated to be adopted at an upcoming regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The session is scheduled to take place later this month.

Initially, there were considerations for South Korea to opt out of the co-sponsorship this year, amidst efforts to improve relations with North Korea. However, the government appears to have prioritized the universal value of human rights in its decision-making process.

Persistent hostility from North Korea towards the South, despite ongoing efforts to ease inter-Korean tensions, likely influenced this decision. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently labeled South Korea as the "most hostile state" during a speech to the newly elected parliament, as reported by the North's state media.

South Korea was one of the 61 co-sponsors for the resolution adopted at the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee last December. Historically, Seoul had co-sponsored the resolution from 2008 to 2018, but it chose to skip it from 2019 to 2021 during the former administration of Moon Jae-in.