SEOUL (Reuters), – This month’s report by a United Nations rights investigator expressing concerns about North Korea’s humanitarian and human rights conditions is “malicious slander”, a North Korean group said on Tuesday.

Tomas Ojea Quintana is the U.N. special raporteur on North Korea’s human rights. He stated that the most vulnerable citizens of the nation are at risk from starvation as the country has fallen further into isolation since the COVID-19 epidemic.

Ojea Quintana stated that international sanctions on North Korea should be lifted to allow for more assistance. However, he also criticised abuses like political prison camps. He said that self-imposed borders lockdowns in order to stop a COVID-19 epidemic had made conditions worse.

In a statement released by KCNA, an anonymous spokesperson for Korea Association for Human Rights Studies stated that the’special raporteur’ has not been content to distort our reality and viciously selected the most appropriate and realistic anti-epidemic actions taken by our state for us specific needs in order cope with the global pandemic.

According to the statement, North Korea doesn’t recognize Ojea Quintana’s mandate and accuses him of participating in a U.S-backed plan to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs.

According to the statement, “Our state is fully responsible for the safety and well-being of all our citizens and has never requested anyone to be concerned about their living standards.”

Leader Kim Jong Un said in June the food situation was “tense” because of natural disasters last year, and acknowledged that citizens had faced sacrifices during the pandemic.

North Korea has not yet reported COVID-19-related cases. However, it has taken strict antivirus measures including closing its borders and curbing domestic travel.