The government concluded on Monday that North Korea is responding to the Venezuelan crisis with an anti-U.S. alliance stance.
During a regular press briefing that day, Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho commented on the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s criticism of the U.S. for its military operations to oust President Nicolás Maduro. He stated that this can be seen as a continuation of North Korea’s ongoing condemnation of U.S. actions within the framework of their anti-American alliance.
Yoon further noted that this reaction closely resembles North Korea’s response to the U.S. attack on Iranian facilities last June.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson recently declared that they are closely monitoring the gravity of the Venezuelan situation, which has been precipitated by U.S. coercion, considering the potential for increased instability in an already volatile regional climate.
They went on to say that it denounces the U.S. hegemonic actions as the most egregious form of sovereignty violation, branding them as a flagrant breach of the United Nations (UN) Charter and international law, which fundamentally aim to uphold sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and territorial integrity. They emphasized the necessity of raising voices in protest and condemnation against the U.S.’s habitual infringements on national sovereignty.
Previously, following the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last June, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson similarly criticized the action as a violation of sovereignty and international law in a Q&A format with a Korean Central News Agency reporter. Analysts suggest that North Korea’s use of anonymous officials to express its stance through ‘media inquiries’ is a strategy to avoid direct involvement in these issues.