North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the US war in Afghanistan a “human rights crime” and said the US should pay the price for it.

On Sunday, the ministry posted a message titled “Human rights crimes committed by the US must be calculated” on its website. “The crimes in which the US slandered innocent people from all over the world while wearing the veils of human rights judges must be calculated,” it said.

North Korea has used the expression “calculate” to mean tallied up to determine the price to be paid.

The ministry added that there were growing calls worldwide for the US military to pay for the atrocities perpetrated against the innocent people of Afghanistan.

It cited recent references to Afghanistan by officials or local media from China, Japan and Iran.

“The US-led anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan for 20 years ended with a hasty escape from the US military,” it said. “It demonstrates that everywhere the US military touches has turned into a barren land for human rights.”

On Sept. 5, the ministry also posted a message on its website criticizing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and racism in the US. It called the US “a destroyer of human rights and democracy.”