North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong will attend a U.N. human rights meeting to open in Geneva later this month, an official of the organization said Wednesday.

Ri plans to deliver a speech at the 31st session of the U.N. Human Rights Council on March 1, according to the official. The session is scheduled to begin on Feb. 29.

"North Korea has informed (us) that Ri will attend a high-level panel meeting," the official said.

Ri participated in last year's session, during which he claimed that the Commission of Inquiry's report on the communist nation's human rights abuse was based on falsified testimony.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se may also join the U.N. council's meeting, a source said.

On March 14, U.N. special rapporteur Marzuki Darusman plans to provide the council's members with a verbal report on the situation of human rights in North Korea.

He earlier asked the U.N. to formally notify North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity. (Yonhap)