North Korea denounced Israel as “a cancer-like entity for the peace in the Middle East” on Thursday, criticizing attacks on ally Iran and accusing the U.S. of “fanning up the flames of war.”

The press statement by a foreign ministry spokesperson, released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), marks Pyongyang’s first official response to the conflict that broke out last week with Israel’s surprise attack on Iranian nuclear sites and top officials.

The Israeli strikes are “a hideous act of aggression wantonly violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign state and an unpardonable crime against humanity,”