Seoul, Dec 12 (IANS): South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Monday it will hold an annual international forum on North Korea's human rights situation this week in an effort to raise public awareness about the North's human rights issue.

The seminar with two sub-sessions will open on Wednesday under the theme of major pending issues and future tasks in regard to North Korea's human rights records, the ministry's spokesperson Cho Joong-hoon told a regular press briefing, Yonhap news agency reported.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se will deliver an opening address at the forum, to be sponsored by the UN human rights agency's office in Seoul, and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will give his congratulatory message.

South Korea's new envoy for the North's human rights, Lee Shin-hwa, plans to serve as a moderator for the seminar. The forum, which has been held every year since 2017, will bring together experts at home and abroad, including Robert King, a former US special envoy for North Korea's human rights.