Shawdesh dEsk:

Vulnerable children and elderly people in North Korea are at risk of starvation, a UN expert has said, reports BBC.

The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in the country blamed international sanctions and a Covid blockade for worsening food shortages.

He called for the sanctions – imposed over North Korea’s nuclear programmes – to be lifted to prevent a crisis.

North Korea is thought to be in dire economic straits.

It closed its borders to contain the spread of Covid-19. Trade with China has plummeted as a result. North Korea relies on China for food, fertiliser and fuel.

This week, leader Kim Jong-un admitted the country was facing a “grim situation”, the state news agency reported.