What the Venezuela case means to the Korean Peninsula

North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un

The United States operation in early January 2026, including airstrikes and raids in Venezuela that ended with President Nicolás Maduro being taken into United States custody and President Trump’s statement that the United States would temporarily run Venezuela, matters for the Korean Peninsula not because Venezuela is strategically central to Northeast Asia, but because it reshapes expectations about how major powers use force, justify it, and communicate it.

For Seoul...