A United Nations human rights expert voiced alarm on Tuesday at what he called "widespread food shortages and malnutrition" in North Korea, which have been exacerbated by a nearly five-month border closure with China and measures against Covid-19.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), urged the UN Security Council to "reconsider sanctions" on the isolated country so as to ensure the flow of food supplies.