North Korea At Risk Of Starvation Due To Self Imposed Covid Blockade

UN : North Korea at risk of starvation due to self imposed Covid blockade

North Korea’s most unprotected are “at risk of starvation” with the economy worsening due to a self-imposed coronavirus blockade, and UN sanctions imposed over the country’s nuclear programmes should be eased, a UN human rights expert said.

“People in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should not have to choose between the fear of hunger and the fear of COVID-19,” Ojea Quintana, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea argues, urging Pyongyang to instead embrace a gradual, balanced approach that factors in both COVID-19 prevention and the “basic economic and social rights of the people.” “The most unprotected children and elderly are at risk of starvation,” he said.

North Korea has not however reported any COVID-19 situations and has, since the sudden increase of the contagious disease, imposed tough anti-virus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs.