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| U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
As Joe Biden, who is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, gives an inauguration speech on the 20th (local time), attention is focused on whether the issue of the Korean Peninsula will be mentioned.
Experts predict that the possibility of direct mention of the North Korean nuclear issue is low, as Biden is expected to focus on internal issues such as intensifying division in the US and the prevention of Corona 19.
However, as President Biden is expected to reveal’diplomatic principles’ such as public restraint, alliance restoration, and multilateralism restoration, it is necessary to pay attention to his inaugural speech.
In an interview with CNN Broadcasting on the 17th (local time) on the 17th (local time), Ron Klein Biden’s chief secretary’s chief of staff introduced Biden’s inauguration as a “message that advances the country, unites, and accomplishes work”
The Inauguration Ceremony Preparation Committee previously stated that the theme of the inauguration ceremony was’the United States as one.’ In his inauguration address, President-elect Biden suggested that he would deliver a message to address serious internal problems, such as the deepening political polarization amplified during President Donald Trump’s term of office and the lack of response to Corona 19.
From the perspective of the South Korean government, there is high hope that there will be positive comments on US-North Korea relations, North Korean nuclear issue, and issues on the Korean peninsula, but the possibility of mentioning it as being pushed into internal issues is unknown.
Lee Sang-shin, head of the Unification Policy Research Department at the Institute for National Unification, predicted that biden’s inauguration address in Tonghua is unlikely to mention North Korea, such as the North Korean nuclear issue.
However, the possibility of making a voice from a diplomatic perspective is predicted, such as restoring the alliance by breaking away from diplomatic isolation through the’US priority’ during the Trump administration.
When Biden emphasized the importance of’strengthening the alliance’ and’restoring the alliance’ in his inauguration speech, he told President Moon Jae-in that “Korea is a’linchpin’ of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.” It can be interpreted that the keynote, which revealed expectations for, was reflected again in this inaugural address.
Also, Biden-elect may refer to the global nuclear reduction issue. Even in this case, it does not seem easy to refer to specific countries such as North Korea or Iran. However, this can be a measure of how the North Korean nuclear issue will be resolved in the future.
Even after his inauguration address, Biden is expected to refrain from making direct comments on issues on the Korean Peninsula for the time being without coordination with the Korean government.
Director Lee said, “There is a possibility that direct comments will come out only after the negotiations between North Korea and the ROK government have ended when mentioning the issue on the Korean peninsula.” .
On the other hand, some predict that a message to North Korea may come out at Biden’s inaugural address, as Kurt Campbell, who will be in charge of the Indo-Pacific coordinator of the White House National Security Council (NSC), emphasized early sending of a message to North Korea at a seminar earlier last month.