A non-governmental organization in the U.S. has condemned North Korea for the recent killing of a South Korean official in the North's waters.

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea issued a statement on Thursday, saying there is no other state that has cruelly taken an innocent life and burned the body to “prevent” COVID-19. 

The organization stressed that North Korean human rights are not solely a North Korean issue, but a Korean issue, affecting Koreans living in the North and in the South. 

Calling North Korean human rights a "global issue," the group said without human rights, there is no peace and that peace devoid of human rights would place all Koreans and many others in grave danger.