North Korea and Japan exchanged objections on Thursday and Friday amid a recent downturn in bilateral relations.

The North and Japan had reached an agreement last May for the lessening of Tokyo’s sanctions against Pyongyang in exchange for a new investigation into the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the late 1970s and ’80s. However, amid complaints of a lack of progress, Japan recently extended unilateral sanctions against the North.

This was accompanied by a recent raid by Japanese police on the residences of a pro-North organization over smuggling allegations.

North Korea notified Japan of its objection to