The United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday announced the launch of a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea after Russia and China thwarted monitoring activities at the United Nations.

Senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan strongly denounced North Korea Wednesday for deliberately escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to step up three-way coordination in response to its provocations.

The United States, South Korea, Japan and eight other countries formed a new multilateral team to monitor and report on violations of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, the countries said in a joint statement.