South Korea has been re-elected to serve a fourth term on the U.N. Human Rights Council in recognition of its contributions to the protection and promotion of human rights around the world, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

On Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly in New York elected 18 countries, including South Korea, to serve on the 47-member panel from 2016-2018, the ministry said in a press release.

It will be South Korea's fourth term overall and second consecutive term.

"Our re-election carries significance in that the international community assessed our efforts to protect and promote human rights at home and abroad, as well as our will to actively contribute to the promotion of international human rights," the ministry said.

"Our government plans to faithfully carry out our pledges as a member of the Human Rights Council over the next three years and continue efforts to contribute to the promotion of universal human rights by actively participating in discussions on major international human rights issues."

The other countries to be elected to the council's Asia group were the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. (Yonhap)