North Korea has accused Japan of bribing the U.N. nuclear agency to allow the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, aligning with China and some other Pacific nations that claim the plan poses risks to the environment and human health.

In a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency on Sunday, the environmental ministry slammed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for “facilitating Japan’s projected discharge of nuclear-polluted water,” calling it “unreasonable behavior.”

The IAEA “is actively patronizing the illegal and unethical act of Japan to imperil the lives and security of humankind and ecological