Seoul, Sep 7 : North Korea on Wednesday slammed the US having taken issue with its human rights situation, calling the move a "grave provocation." In July, a US State Department spokesperson expressed concerns over the North's rights situation following Seoul's appointment of a new envoy for Pyongyang's human rights, reports Yonhap News Agency. A researcher at the North's Korea Association for Human Rights Studies dismissed the remarks and accused Washington of using the issue to strengthen its "hostile policy", according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "This is another grave provocation violating sovereignty of our dignified state under the pretext of 'human rights'," Ri Jin, the researcher, was quoted as saying in an English-language KCNA report. "It is a revelation of its attempt at stronger and more open enforcement of its hostile policy toward the DPRK over the 'human rights issue,'" Ri added. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Ri repeated Pyongyang's claims that Washington has committed human rights violations through its foreign intervention. /IANS