Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, will visit South Korea this week to meet with Seoul officials and attend events.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the release of a landmark UN report on the North’s rights abuses.

Ms Turner is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday, following a trip to Japan.

The U.S. State Department said earlier that Ms Turner would make the two-nation visit from February 19 to 22.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a briefing that they expect that Julie Turner’s visit will serve as a chance to send a strong message from South Korea and the United States.

The outreach to South Korea and the United States was on the commitment to raising awareness and promoting the North’s human rights situations.

Ms Turner is expected to attend an event hosted by the UN human rights office in Seoul.

The event was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on the North’s human rights violations.

The COI report had accused North Korean officials of “systematic, widespread and gross” human rights violations.

The COI report is considered the first document produced by the UN that addressed, in depth, the issues related to North Korean human rights violations.

However, Ms Turner plans to visit entities providing support and education to recently arrived North Korean defectors. 

(Yonhap/NAN)