UN report: North Korea faces growing food crisis, economic hardship

North Korea faces a growing food crisis that has left children and elderly people at risk of starvation, a UN investigator said in a report out Wednesday.

Driving the news: Prolonged and strict measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 have worsened conditions in the isolated Asian nation and have lead to "severe economic hardship," per the report.

• North Korea has enforced aggressive measures, including a full-scale border shutdown and restricting imports of nonessential goods, the report states.
• Over 40% of the population was already "food insecure" before the pandemic, and a large majority of those people were suffering from malnutrition.

What they're saying: "The COVID-19 restrictions and government vigilance against the pandemic have helped avert a possible health crisis," the report states.

• "At the same time, prolonged isolation and border closures have resulted in food and other health problems and severe economic deprivation for many people across the country," it added.