A spokesman for North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized the U.S. for taking issue with the country’s human rights issues in a question-and-answer session with a North Korean reporter.

The statement, which was posted on Naenara, took issue with recent statements by American officials for trying to “justify” U.S. attempts to “isolate” North Korea by bringing up the human rights issue.

This comes as North Korea has faced greater attention to its human rights issues internationally after the release of a damning COI report in March, and an upcoming vote in the UN General Assembly that could