North Korea has denied rumors that 22 of its nationals were executed upon their return home after being rescued while drifting in South Korean waters this month.

North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement Thursday that the 22 North Koreans are leading normal lives.

The statement, which was carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, added that the group had refused a South Korean offer to stay in the South.

The 22 North Koreans were rescued by the South Korean Navy while drifting in two rubber boats on February eighth. According to a Seoul official, the North Koreans all said they wanted to return to the communist country.

Meanwhile, the statement also denied suspicions that Pyongyang diverted to the military food aid intended for its citizens.

The statement called the allegations "a completely baseless plot made by South Korea's ultraconservative forces."

Last week, the South Korean Defense Ministry said North Korean troops in military units had been seen unloading about 400 bags of rice from trucks more than a dozen times since 2006.

The official said the bags of rice had the words ‘Republic of Korea’ imprinted on them and also bore the South's Red Cross markings.