Mentioned in Both Previous Speeches
2018 Emphasized 'Maximum Pressure,' Last Year Announced North Korea-US Summit
Attention on Whether a Message to Break North Korea-US Negotiation Deadlock Will Emerge
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Attention is focused on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will send a message related to North Korea in his third State of the Union address since taking office.
President Trump is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address before members of the U.S. Congress at 9 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Korean time). U.S. media, citing White House sources, report that President Trump will speak about his economic achievements, support for working families, reduction of healthcare costs, and national security.
The parts related to Korea can be summarized as economic achievements and national security. In particular, it seems highly likely that national security will include content related to North Korea. U.S. media outlets such as USA Today and Vox predict that President Trump will mention North Korea-related issues during the address.
President Trump has mentioned North Korea in his two previous State of the Union addresses. In the 2018 address, he invited a defector from North Korea known as a "flower child" as a guest, highlighting the issue of North Korean defectors, and stated his position to maintain maximum pressure on North Korea.
The 2019 State of the Union address was completely different. President Trump announced the schedule and location of the second North Korea-U.S. summit during the speech. Although the schedule and venue were initially kept under wraps, President Trump used the highly anticipated State of the Union address to reveal the details of the summit.
At that time, President Trump did not even mention North Korea's denuclearization, only saying, "If I were not president, we would have had a major war with North Korea."
With the current North Korea-U.S. relationship at a stalemate, the U.S. side has continuously urged North Korea to engage in dialogue, but North Korea has not responded. However, since North Korea has also been refraining from criticizing the U.S., if President Trump makes some kind of proposal, North Korea is likely to respond.
Since President Trump has been actively promoting the recent strengthening of U.S. national security, the issue of concluding the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on the defense cost-sharing for U.S. Forces Korea may also be included in the speech.
There is also a possibility that Korea will be mentioned while discussing economic achievements. President Trump has recently promoted the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as well as the revision of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea as major accomplishments.
In this address, there is ample room for President Trump to boast about his trade agreements and mention Korea. His tweet before the State of the Union, highlighting the support he received at the Iowa caucuses and the significant rise in the stock market, can be linked to this expectation.
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