A human rights group has said that thousands of North Koreans are estimated to have starved to death during crippling food shortages in North Korea.

An Amnesty International report released on Thursday in New York said that shortages of food, made worse by government policies, have left some North Koreans eating barely digestible or even poisonous "wild foods" such as grass and tree bark.

The report also said that the North Korean diet has traditionally included wild foods such as seaweed and mushrooms, but as food shortages have intensified, the population has come to rely more on wild foods that have no nutritional value.

Amnesty International further said that the problem is exacerbated by the North Korean government's violation of international law in refusing to cooperate fully with the international community to receive food aid.

According to Amnesty International, thousands are estimated to have starved to death in North Korea as recently as February this year. (With Inputs from Agencies)