A UN human rights investigator accused North Korean authorities of committing widespread torture in prisons that he called "death traps."

Life in the reclusive communist-ruled country is "dire and desperate," said Vitit Muntarbhorn, adding that people are denied enough food to survive.

Muntarbhorn told the 47-nation Human Rights Council that whole families are routinely sent away for the crimes of one member. Once imprisoned, they suffer greatly.

"Many prisons are a death trap for the inmates," he said. Sang Il Hun of North Korea's UN mission told the council that the report was untrue.