An international human rights group urged the United Nations General Assembly to establish a body to examine connections between North Korea's repressive system, its military programs and nuclear weapons development.

In a press release on Sunday, Human Rights Watch urged the UN to consider establishing the standing body of experts in international human rights, humanitarian law, weapons proliferation, and sanctions. 

The group said the body would be tasked to better document how Pyongyang's systemic rights violations increasingly threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.

The call was made as the UN General Assembly is set to convene a special high-level plenary session on North Korea on Tuesday.

More than a decade has passed since a historic UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korea recommended that the UN Security Council refer the  country to the International Criminal Court for its human rights violations.