Ruling party lawmakers condemn US attack on Venezuela

A civic activist protests against the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro near the U.S. Embassy in South Korea in central Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Tuesday condemned the United States' military strike on Venezuela, calling it a breach of international law and the United Nations charter.

The statement, signed by 68 DPK lawmakers, came after Washington carried out a large-scale military strike that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

"A regime's poor governance cannot justify military action against a sovereign state," the lawmakers said. "The restoration of Venezuela's democracy must be left for the people of Venezuela to decide, and it must be done in a peaceful and diplomatic manner."

They stressed that the U.S. operation constituted a use of force that violates international law and warned that it could set a dangerous precedent for justifying similar military interventions.

The lawmakers also called on the international community to step up efforts to work toward a peaceful resolution to the crisis.