The head of South Korea's ruling party criticized North Korea on Friday for its widely condemned human rights record and vowed efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the Saenuri Party, made the remarks in a keynote speech at the 2014 Party Leaders Meeting of the International Democrat Union (IDU) in Seoul, a gathering of the world's conservative party leaders. 

"The North Korean people have been suffering from famine and the worst human rights conditions," Kim said. "I hope that this meeting will send a clear message to the North about its need to protect and improve human rights."

Stressing that peace on the Korean Peninsula is "crucial for peace in the region and the world," Kim said he will "strive to have North Korea give up its nuclear ambitions and become a responsible member of the international community."

During the IDU meeting Friday, some 120 representatives from 41 counties also adopted a statement expressing concern over North Korea's grave human rights situation and calling for improvement efforts.

The IDU "is deeply concerned at systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations which have been and are being committed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," the statement said, referring to the communist country by its official name.

The statement puts more pressure on North Korea on its human rights issues. On Wednesday, the U.N. passed a highly symbolic resolution calling for referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations. Referral to the ICC was the COI's key recommendation in its February report written after a yearlong probe into Pyongyang's rights record.  

Backing the report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry(COI) on the North's human rights, the IDU said it welcomes the fresh U.N. resolution adopted this week.

"The IDU encourages further activities of the United Nations and IDU member nations to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK" in accordance with the U.N. recommendations and legislation of North Korean Human Rights Act in IDU member nations, according to the statement.

In a luncheon meeting with the party leaders, President Park Geun-hye said North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons had resulted in the country's isolation and dire human rights conditions.

"Now the North Korean people are faced with hunger and a tragic humanitarian situation as the North sticks to the path of...

isolation by developing nuclear arms," Park said during the luncheon at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

"I request consistent attention and support from IDU members as international support and cooperation are vital for improving the North Korean situation and bringing about unification of the two Koreas," she said.

The three-day 2014 IDU, which began Wednesday, brought together high-profile politicians and government officials, who discussed ways to boost freedom and democracy, and promote exchanges and cooperation among them.

The IDU, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Oslo, is an association of 57 conservative political parties in 52 countries.

The Democratic Liberal Party, the predecessor of the Saenuri Party, joined the association in 1992. (Yonhap)