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North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un at a recent speech
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According to the UN, North Korea is experiencing an acute famine that could lead to death in the most physically weak.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights issues, Tomás Ojea Quintana, therefore called in a report published on Wednesday for the UN sanctions against Pyongyang to be relaxed.
North Korea has also increasingly isolated itself because of the corona pandemic.
In June, the North Korean state broadcaster KCTV admitted that there was a hunger crisis.
The ruler Kim Jong-un said that supplying the population with food would be "difficult".
As early as the summer, pictures were circulating that showed Kim's strong weight loss.
Quintana now stated in his report that the "most vulnerable children and elderly people" are at risk of "starvation."
Quintana therefore called on the Security Council to review and weaken the sanctions imposed on North Korea in order to simplify humanitarian and "life-sustaining" aid.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced three months ago that there would be a gap of 860,000 tons of food in North Korea this year. The FAO report estimates that North Korea is expected to be able to produce 5.6 million tons of grain this year. That is about 1.1 million tons too little to feed the entire population. The previously planned imports of 205,000 tons would not be enough.
North Korea is subject to international punitive measures because of its nuclear and missile program - imports are hardly possible.
The corona pandemic has also restricted the exchange of goods with China.
On Tuesday, Kim blamed the United States for the military tensions on the Korean peninsula.
He said North Korea's weapons were used for self-defense and were not directed against any particular country.
svs / mrc / dpa