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A U.N. committee passed a resolution Friday criticizing North Korea's human rights abuses, with South Korea voting in favor for the first time.

The resolution, non-binding, passed the Third Committee 91 to 21, with 60 abstentions.

After much internal deliberation, Seoul decided to vote in favor of the resolution after abstaining from last year's vote.

This is the first time that South Korea, still technically at war with North Korea, gave a yes vote on a document that deals with human rights issues in the North. The decision came against the backdrop of former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon's election as the next U.N. secretary-general and Seoul's efforts to assume an international role matching its economic status.

In a statement before the vote, Amb. Kim Chang-guk, North Korea's deputy envoy to the U.N., called the resolution "arrogant" and a "political plot" that cannot be justified.

"The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea resolutely opposes and rejects the anti-DPRK resolution," he said, referring to his government by its official name.

"Who can say it is fair?" Kim said, accusing the United States of fabricating documents "for sinister political purposes." "Human rights means sovereignty of states," he said.

South Korea's ambassador to the U.N., Choi Young-jin, said his government voted in favor to promote human rights dialogue between the international community and North Korea, "for which there is even greater need following Pyongyang's nuclear test recently."

"The Republic of Korea (South Korea) shares the concerns of the international community regarding the human rights situation in DPRK," he said.

"At the same time, we place priority on taking active and practical steps to achieve real improvement in human rights there."

China, a staunch North Korean ally that voted against the resolution, said it regrets the passage of the document and urged the Third Committee not to become a "place to exchange accusations" but a venue to promote dialogue.

The resolution heads next month to a full vote at the U.N. General Assembly, but the passage there is virtually guaranteed since all U.N. member states are also represented on the Third Committee, which addresses social, cultural and humanitarian issues.

Sponsored by Finland on behalf of the European Union, the resolution decries the "precarious humanitarian situation" in North Korea, marked by torture and inhumane and degrading treatment of citizens. It also holds the North Korean authorities accountable for mismanagement leading to malnutrition in its people, especially infants.

It says the United Nations will continue to examine the situation in the North and asks the U.N. secretary-general to submit a comprehensive report on the situation and the special rapporteur to compile findings and recommendations.

New York, Nov. 17 (Yonhap News)