Torture, forced labour rife in North Korea, U.N. says as U.S. mulls sanctions

FILE PHOTO: The North Korean flag waves during a parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, in this image released by North Korea's Central News Agency on October 10, 2020. KCNA via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) - Torture and forced labour are rife in North Korea's prisons, amounting to possible crimes against humanity, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday, as the Biden administration weighs fresh sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

The report, issued seven years after a landmark U.N. investigation found that crimes against humanity were being committed, also said that political prison camps run by security forces still persisted, although information is more scarce.