On the 24th local time, in President Donald Trump's first State of the Union of his second term, which ran for the longest time on record, there were virtually no remarks about Korea, North Korea, or China.
Trump devoted most of the 108-minute address to touting his economic and political achievements. Aside from criticizing the Supreme Court's ruling that the reciprocal tariff is illegal, asserting the validity of trade agreements concluded with various countries, and urging Iran to abandon its nuclear program, there was little mention of foreign policy, security, or trade issues.
In particular, North Korea and Korea were not mentioned at all, and China was only briefly referenced while describing the operation that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying Maduro "was protected by Russian and Chinese military technology."
That contrasts with State of the Union addresses in his first term. In the 2018 address on Jan. 30, Trump said, "No regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea," adding that "North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons could soon threaten our homeland."
Notably, at the end of the speech he called out defector Ji Seong-ho by name, calling him "another witness to the sinister North Korean regime." He also brought up the case of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who died shortly after being repatriated following prolonged detention in North Korea.
At the time, he also openly criticized China, saying, "Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China or Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values."
In the following year's address on Feb. 5, 2019, he previewed the "Hanoi U.S.-North Korea summit." Trump said at the time, "As part of our bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "My relationship with (North Korea's) Chairperson Kim Jong-un is good. And Chairperson Kim and I will meet again in Vietnam on Feb. 27 and 28."
In last year's first address to Congress of his second term, he mentioned tariffs and directly referred to Korea. He said, "Countless countries impose much higher tariffs than we impose on them. It's very unfair," citing India and China, then claimed, "Korea's average tariff is four times higher (than that of the United States)." However, he did not provide evidence.
He went on, "We help Korea a lot militarily and in so many other ways, and yet this is happening. An ally is doing this," revealing discomfort toward Korea.