North Korea continues to engage in severe violations of religious freedom, a newly released U.S. State Department report said Wednesday, stressing that closer U.S.-DPRK ties will be contingent on Pyongyang resolving the issue.

The 2019 International Religious Freedom Report, which documents the state of religious freedom across the world, describes persecution, detention, and executions of worshipers inside the DPRK which could amount to “crimes against humanity.”

The report’s publication was debuted Wednesday with remarks from the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

Pompeo highlighted the administration’s “dedication to the protection of religious