North Korea 'strongly' denounces U.S. capture of Venezuela's Maduro
Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 09:18
![Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears in a photo that U.S. President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social on Jan. 3 after U.S. forces arrest Maduro in a military operation. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/01/05/2f82b13d-d0dd-4a9f-8a14-64c49b787b83.jpg)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appears in a photo that U.S. President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social on Jan. 3 after U.S. forces arrest Maduro in a military operation. [YONHAP]
North Korea on Sunday "strongly" denounced the U.S. military strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, calling the ouster of Maduro "the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty."
The North's foreign ministry made the remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington has captured Maduro and his wife in a large-scale military strike.
The North's foreign ministry "strongly denounces the U.S. hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty," according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The capture of Maduro came after the Trump administration's monthslong pressure campaign against the Venezuelan leader.
It was also in line with the U.S. administration's drive to reassert American power in the Western Hemisphere and its vow to combat drug-trafficking cartels, while some critics pointed out that it proceeded without a congressional authorization process and could escalate regional tensions.
"The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the United States, which the international community has so frequently witnessed for a long time," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the KCNA.
The ministry urged the international community to "recognize the seriousness" of the Venezuelan situation and raise protests against the United States' "habitual violation of the sovereignty of other countries."
Earlier in the day, South Korea's military said North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, marking the North's first weapons testing this year.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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