The 13th general assembly of the International Parliamentarians' Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights(IPCNKR) opened in Seoul Tuesday morning.

During the assembly held at the Shilla Hotel, parliamentarians from around the world discussed global cooperation to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.

Ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Hong Il-pyo, a cochair of the assembly, said in opening remarks that thanks to efforts made by the coalition's member legislators, North Korean Human Rights Acts were enacted in the U.S. in 2004, in Japan in 2006 and also in South Korea this year.

He said the laws are assisting endeavors to improve the human rights situation in Pyongyang and to protect people fleeing the regime. 

The general assembly was first launched in 2003 by 31 lawmakers of five nations—South Korea, the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Mongolia. Since then, it has continued to hold discussions on ways to protect North Korean defectors and induce change in the North's human rights conditions through international coordination.