Disappearance of North Korea Issue in Trump's State of the Union Address

First Time No North Korea Message in Inaugural State of the Nation Address
Contrasted with Last Year's Announcement of 2nd North Korea-US Summit
Focus on Criticism of Iran and Venezuela
Calls for Fair Defense Cost Sharing Targeting Allies Including Korea

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his 2020 State of the Union address without any mention of North Korea. Instead, he emphasized fair burden-sharing of defense costs amid ongoing negotiations for the U.S.-South Korea defense cost-sharing agreement.

On the 4th (local time), President Trump delivered an approximately 80-minute State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, focusing mostly on promoting his achievements. Although he mentioned national security at the very end, his remarks were limited to Iran and Middle East peace agreements, with no comments on relations with North Korea.

Earlier, U.S. media, citing close aides of President Trump, had predicted that there would be references to North Korea in the speech, but President Trump’s choice was different.

This is the first time since his inauguration that President Trump has delivered a State of the Union address without mentioning North Korea. In 2018, he emphasized maximum pressure in his address, and in last year’s address, when U.S.-North Korea relations had improved, he announced the schedule and location of the second U.S.-North Korea summit unexpectedly.

With U.S.-North Korea negotiations at a stalemate, and President Trump not making any public proposals toward North Korea in the State of the Union, it seems unlikely that any special breakthroughs in U.S.-North Korea relations will be made in the near future.

Although he did not mention South Korea, he emphasized fair burden-sharing among allies. President Trump said, "We are finally helping our allies pay their fair share," stressing equitable burden-sharing related to defense costs.

This year, instead of North Korea, Iran and Venezuela became targets of President Trump’s criticism. He personally introduced the U.S. military family members killed by Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, stating that he ordered Soleimani’s killing and that terrorists who kill Americans will not be spared.

The attendance of Juan Guaid?, the Speaker of the National Assembly who claims to be the interim president of Venezuela, drew attention at this State of the Union address. President Trump criticized Venezuelan President Nicol?s Maduro and asked Speaker Guaid? to "deliver our message to the Venezuelan people who want democracy."

In his State of the Union address, President Trump praised his economic achievements, emphasizing support for dual-income families, improvements to the healthcare system, and the need for stronger immigration policies, while requesting cooperation from Congress. He did not utter a single word about the impeachment proceedings in the House and Senate that had troubled him.