North Korea has criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres for speaking about sanctions on the North and the country's denuclearization during his recent visit to Japan.

According to AFP news agency, the North Korean mission to the United Nations said in a statement Friday that the UN chief should contribute to building peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula rather than calling for sanctions to please a certain country.

The statement was likely referring to the United States, which has insisted that strong sanctions should be kept on Pyongyang until the regime takes substantive measures toward denuclearization.

The North Korean mission to the UN said the secretary general made a "careless" remark.

Japan's Kyodo News had reported that during talks between the UN chief and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Wednesday, the two sides agreed that UN sanctions must be maintained for the complete denuclearization of North Korea.