The North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a statement Wednesday criticizing last week’s one-year extension by the U.S. President of a number of sanctions measures against Pyongyang.

Following positive promotion by both countries’ leaders in recent days of their latest exchange of personal letters, the new MFA statement highlights leader-level diplomacy while casting doubt on the intentions of others in the U.S. government. 

It focuses its ire on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specifically, highlighting but seemingly misinterpreting comments he made over the weekend on sanctions.

The statement, released directly by the Korean Central News Agency