North Korea bashed a visit to China by South Korea’s foreign minister this week as a bid to conspire with foreign powers against Pyongyang after the ROK official raised concerns about the DPRK’s arms sales to Russia and other activities.

In a statement released Thursday, the DPRK’s foreign ministry accused Cho Tae-yul of attempting to tarnish the country’s image by telling his Chinese counterpart that North Korea is escalating tensions “through bellicose rhetoric and various provocations.”

Thursday’s statement notably used the term “DPRK-ROK relationship” (조한관계) to describe inter-Korean ties for what appears to be the first time, in the latest