The Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed a U.N. human rights panel's adoption of a North Korea human rights resolution that calls for instituting an expert group to verify those responsible for Pyongyang's "crimes against humanity."

During the 31st regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on Wednesday, the council adopted the resolution without a vote.

The resolution centers on appointing up to two independent experts who will verify the North's human rights violations to assist the special rapporteur with the situation there.

"We welcome the adoption of the resolution, in which 58 nations, including our government, reached a consensus," the ministry said in a commentary, stressing the planned appointment of an expert group is "very meaningful."

The ministry added that the adoption of the resolution through "overwhelming" support underscores that the international community is "deeply concerned" about the seriousness of human rights abuses in the reclusive state.

"The government deplores the North's pouring of its scarce resources into its nuclear tests and missile launches, while it turns a blind eye to the human rights of North Koreans and their livelihoods," the ministry said.

The council has adopted a resolution, handed in by the European Union and Japan, in March each year to call international attention to the North's human rights situation.

This year's draft resolution has drawn particular international attention as it followed on the heels of a U.N. Security Council's sanctions resolution that punished the North for its recent nuclear weapons and long-range rocket tests.

Criticizing the latest HRC resolution, the North's mission in Geneva said that the human rights issue is being "politicized" to increase political pressure on the communist state, and that it would not be bound by the resolution. (Yonhap)