North Korea slammed the position of U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the DPRK on Tuesday, days after the U.N. officially appointed Elizabeth Salmon to take over the post.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) statement attributed to Kim Il Chol, director of an association for human rights studies, reiterated Pyogyang’s long-standing refusal to “recognize” the role of the rapporteur, a move one expert said demonstrates the unfruitfulness of trying to engage Pyongyang on human rights issues.