India, Sept. 13 -- The death penalty in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea,is "more widely allowed by law and implemented in practice" than a decade ago, said a senior UN human rights official on Friday.

The rights office, OHCHR, interviewed 314 witnesses who left the DPRK - more commonly known as North Korea - and consulted with several organizations and experts to evaluate the human rights conditions there since 2014.

The situation has not improved, and in many cases has worsened, "bringing even more suffering to the population," said Spokesperson Liz Throssell, briefing journalists in Geneva.

James Heenan, head of the office working on DPRK, highlighted the severity of the human rights violations, where...