The U.S. Department of State announced up to $2.4 million in funding to promote human rights in North Korea this week.

According to the announcement, the funds should go to projects that “support the policy objective to promote human rights, accountability, and access to information in the DPRK.”

The funding announcement comes amid a months-long diplomatic stalemate between Washington and Pyongyang over a range of issues, from the fate of the North’s nuclear weapons program to sanctions relief to the U.S. military presence on the Korean peninsula.

The two countries have also clashed over human rights issues.

Early in the