North Korea has remained silent on Venezuela following its January 4 International Ministry assertion—its preliminary and solely response to the US raid. This uncommon lack of follow-up protection appears to level to the problem’s sensitivity for Pyongyang, a wait-and-see strategy because the state of affairs in Venezuela unfolds, or each. Within the absence of additional commentary on Venezuela, Pyongyang has begun monitoring rising tensions over Greenland and Iran. Nonetheless, North Korean media protection has prevented particulars on the home protests in Iran, apparently reflecting the sensitivity of such unrest for North Korea.
Silence on Venezuela
As of January 15, North Korean propaganda retailers, each internally and externally oriented, have altogether stopped mentioning Venezuela for the reason that January 4 International Ministry “spokesperson’s reply” to Korean Central Information Company (KCNA) that criticized the US whereas remaining remarkably imprecise concerning the US raid. A departure from their common reporting on rising tensions in Venezuela and the Caribbean within the months main as much as the US operation, this silence appears to level to the problem’s sensitivity, Pyongyang watching to see how the state of affairs in Venezuela unfolds, or each.
Conversely, within the wake of the June 2025 US bombings of Iranian nuclear websites—not an actual parallel, provided that Iran’s prime chief was not captured by the US, however comparable in that each have been restricted army operations—North Korean media reported on worldwide reactions to the US bombings, together with these of the Chinese language and Russian International Ministries.[1] This occurred though Chinese language and Russian reactions on the time have been comparatively restrained, just like their responses following the US Venezuela raid.
Shifting Consideration to Different Stress Factors
Whereas remaining silent on Venezuela, North Korea shifted to rising US-Europe tensions over Greenland. On January 7, it resumed reporting on Greenland—North Korea tracked this difficulty routinely between February and April 2025.
Nonetheless, in contrast to in early 2025, when North Korea carried commentaries explicitly important of the US in reference to Greenland, its newer criticism of Washington has remained solely implicit, primarily by citing Greenlandic, Danish, and EU officers. For instance, relating to US curiosity in buying Greenland, a February 2025 article within the Get together day by day Rodong Sinmun concluded that the US “doesn’t hesitate to infringe upon the pursuits of its henchmen [allies]” and that its “allies are nothing greater than victims wanted to safe its personal pursuits.”[2] Against this, an identical Rodong Sinmun article in January 2026 adopted a decidedly extra average tone, even attributing commentary to unnamed “analysts”: “Analysts are saying that the state of affairs won’t change going ahead, and that allies’ mistrust of the US will solely develop.”[3]
This seems according to North Korea’s broader moderation of tone towards the US in current months, together with following the discharge of a US-South Korea joint reality sheet from their October 2025 summit. Whereas the January 4 International Ministry pronouncement on Venezuela included more durable criticism of the US than the assertion following the June 2025 US bombings of Iran, it was revealed just for exterior audiences.
Pyongyang can be monitoring the potential of US strikes on Iran as protests escalate. Media protection—to this point restricted to straight information reviews citing the Iranian authorities and officers—has prevented offering particulars concerning the state of affairs in Iran, reflecting the problem’s sensitivity, significantly provided that these reviews have been additionally carried for home consumption. For instance, North Korean media have cited Iran’s claims of the skin forces’ try to “destroy social stability,” in addition to US “maneuvers towards home interference” and involvement in “terrorist actions in Iran,” with out additional elaboration on the mass protests which have been ongoing since late December.[4]
