In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a closing speech at the Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, April 8, 2021. AP

North Korea on Thursday denounced Japan's decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision to prevent a "new catastrophe for the humanity."

On Wednesday, Tokyo approved the plan to dump more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the wrecked nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking strong criticism from its local fishing industry and neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.

"Japan is to bring a new catastrophe to the humanity which has been suffering from a global malignant infectious disease," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in commentary. "It should withdraw the decision immediately."

KCNA noted that the planned release would cause a vast amount of dangerous substances to spread to most parts of the Pacific within a few days.