North Korea: North Korea warned Tuesday that trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan would prompt more “retaliatory responses,” days after the leaders of the three nations decided to establish a secretariat to bolster three-way cooperation.

According to Qatar News Agency, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) carried the message in a commentary after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba issued a joint statement in Lima last week, announcing the establishment of the secretariat.

North Korea criticized the decision as deepening the roots of confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region, claiming the US attempts to “seize political and military control” through a military bloc that has evolved into a “nuclear alliance.” It warned that the decision would lead to the habitualization of strong retaliatory responses from North Korea.