UN Secretary General António Guterres said that food shortages in North Korea are worsening as the regime is restricting movement of citizens to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to Voice of America, the UN chief also said in a report submitted ahead of the UN General Assembly scheduled later this month that stringent border measures in North Korea have hindered the movement of supplies, cargo and people.

The report said the number of UN personnel stationed in the North in June was less than 25 percent of the normal level and a ban on visits to areas outside Pyongyang has dealt a blow to humanitarian activities.

A think tank under the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast in an annual food security report last month that nearly 60 percent of North Korean people, or over 15 million, will be short of food this year.

Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, also assessed that Washington's unilateral sanctions on North Korea were hurting humanitarian aid provision.