The UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation will travel here next week to hold relevant discussions, a UN office said Thursday.

Tomas Ojea Quintana will visit the country on Tuesday for a nine-day trip, according to the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul.

He is expected to meet with officials from the South Korean government and civic groups on North Korean human rights, as well as North Korean defectors, in preparation for an annual report on the North to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.

Quintana expressed his willingness last year to visit the inter-Korean border region after voicing concerns about South Korea's new law that bans the spread of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border by activists. (Yonhap)