A senior North Korean diplomat on Monday criticized U.S. support for South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines and accused Washington of worsening tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking at the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong said the U.S. had “approved and is encouraging Seoul’s ambition to possess nuclear-powered submarines,” while deploying missiles, drones and other military hardware in and around the region.

“The Korean Peninsula and its vicinity, in particular, are faced with an extreme instability and further aggravated tension on a level different from that of last year due to the