North Korea's COVID restrictions intensify human rights violations - U.N.

People wearing protective face masks commute amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea March 30, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's coronavirus curbs have aggravated the country's human rights violations, a United Nations report said on Thursday, citing extra restrictions on access to information, tighter border security and heightened digital surveillance.

The report, released by the U.N. human rights office in Seoul and to be presented to the General Assembly in October, comes as rights groups say various authoritarian governments the world over have exploited the COVID crisis to tighten their grips and persecute opponents.