North Korea's state media are blasting an Australian newspaper that referred to the communist country as “Naughty Korea” and its neighbor to the south as “Nice Korea” in a tally of Olympic medals.

The North Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday condemned the description by the mX newspaper as “sordid” and “foolish,” calling it a “bullying act little short of insulting the Olympic spirit of solidarity, friendship and progress.”

KCNA, which mistakenly referred to the Australian tabloid as the “Brisbane Metro,” also said the paper was guilty of “defaming the mental and moral aspects of the players of the DPRK” and said it will “long be cursed in Olympic history.”

In response, the mX published a front-page story on Wednesday declaring that North Korea, which is under international sanctions for its nuclear program, has gone “ballistic” over the matter.

It also said in a statement that its medal count was not meant to offend the athletes of North Korea, but was a humorous statement directed at North Korea's often-criticized political leaders.