Kyiv has “no right” to take issue with North Korea’s recognition of two breakaway republics in Ukraine’s eastern frontier, the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Friday.

The statement comes two days after Pyongyang recognized the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. The move prompted swift condemnation from Kyiv, which described recognition of the two regions as an attempt to “undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”