A global survey finds that one in six North Korean children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.

The United Nations Children's Fund released a joint report with the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group that shows that the growth of an estimated 16-point-eight percent of North Korean children under the age of five, or some 285-thousand, was stunted as of last year.

Experts in the U.S. say the situation is worsening amid prolonged border closure caused by strict pandemic restrictions.

Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, told Radio Free Asia on Friday that the humanitarian situation in the North is very serious due to government controls.

According to the recent report, 22-point-three percent of children under the age of five worldwide, totaling some 148 million, suffered from stunted growth in 2022.