South Korea's point man on North Korea once again urged Pyongyang on Thursday to heed the international community's repeated calls to improve its dismal human rights situation. North Korea's serious human rights violations have gained international attention since 2014, when the U.N. Commission of Inquiry unveiled a landmark report that accused North Korean officials of "systematic, widespread and gross" human rights violations. "North Korea, as a member of the U.N., should accept the recommendations to be raised in the upcoming UPR in November and work to improve the human rights of its people," Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said during a forum on North Korean human rights. His remarks came just weeks ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of North Korea. The UPR, scheduled to be released in November, is a process designed to shed light on human rights violations globally, requiring each U.N. member state to undergo a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years. North Korea has long been accused of grave human rights abuses, ranging from holding political prisoners in concentration camps to committing torture and carrying out public executions. Still, North Korea claims its people are freely enjoying genuine human rights. South Korea is set to host a global forum aimed at raising international solidarity on the issue in Geneva in October. "We must not turn a blind eye to the human rights situation in North Korea under the guise of 'mutual respect' between the South and North Korean systems," Kim said. Kim, a former conservative professor, is known for his hard-line stance toward North Korea and his strong advocacy for human rights. Source: Yonhap News Agency