South Korea is studying a plan to unveil a list of North Korean violators of human rights as a new law aimed at improving the North's rights situation is set to take effect next month, a government source said Wednesday.

Seoul is carefully reviewing whether to make public its own list of North Korean perpetrators following Washington's latest move to impose sanctions on the North's human rights offenders and agencies, the source said.

Last month, Washington blacklisted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other top officials, as well as state agencies, for their roles in Pyongyang's grave human rights violations. This marked the first time that the U.S. slapped sanctions over rights abuses on North Korea.

The law, which was passed at parliament in early March, is scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 4, with an aim at shedding light on the North's serious human rights violation and improving the situation.

Under the law, Seoul plans to establish a center tasked with investigating the North's human rights violations and supporting relevant civic groups by September.

North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world. Pyongyang has bristled at such criticism, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.

The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps tight control over outside information. (Yonhap)