The nongovernmental human rights group, Amnesty International, has listed North Korea as one of 11 countries that have carried out executions for the past five years, a U.S. media report said Thursday.

AI said in its annual report released a day earlier that information on North Korea cannot be verified on its own, but reports have shown that North Korea has carried out capital punishment on various crimes, according to the Washington-based Voice of America.

The report said the purging of North Korea's former defense chief Hyon Yong-chol and ex-vice premier Choe Yong-gun are examples of the country executing its people, the report said.

The North Korean government's use of execution is excessive, especially over crimes that do not deserve capital punishment under the international law, one AI official was quoted as telling the VOA.

The court process leading to a death penalty is also very unfair, the official said, calling on the communist country to stop the practice of executions.

The official added that North Korea's executions are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of other serious human rights violations perpetuated by the government. (Yonhap)