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US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up following his address to the National Assembly on Nov. 8. (Blue House Photo Pool)

US President Donald Trump’s address to South Korea’s National Assembly on Nov. 8 mostly consisted of harsh criticism of the North Korean regime. While enumerating the human rights abuses suffered by North Koreans, Trump described Kim’s rule as a “cruel dictatorship” and North Korea as “hell.” Declaring that “now is the time for strength,” Trump warned the North not to “underestimate” or “try” the US. He asked China and Russia to sever their diplomatic and trade relations with North Korea and told the international community not to “support” or “supply” the North in “any form.” The address gives clear insight into Trump’s attitude toward North Korea. He regards the North not as a partner for dialogue, but as the subject of domination. This was at odds with the moderate tone that he adopted during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in the previous day.

It’s true that the Moon administration achieved more than it hoped for during Trump’s visit, including a reaffirmation of the South Korea-US alliance. Arranging for Trump to hug Lee Yong-su, a former comfort woman for the imperial Japanese army who was invited to a state banquet on the evening of Nov. 7, represented another diplomatic victory. But officials are largely relieved not so much by what Trump said as by what he didn’t say. He didn’t talk about “fire and fury” or the “military option” in regard to the North Korean issue; he didn’t hint that he might scrap the two countries’ free trade agreement; and he didn’t voice an opinion about the “three no’s” declared by the Moon administration as it was repairing its relations with China, which had been damaged by the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system. (The “three no’s” are not deploying any additional THAAD batteries, not participating in the US missile defense network, and not allowing security cooperation with the US and Japan to develop into a military alliance.) Trump did his best to be considerate of Moon.

But as his address confirms, Trump doesn’t have a new solution to the North Korean nuclear issue, and he doesn’t appear to be interested in anything but pressure and sanctions. Just compare Trump’s address to the National Assembly with Moon’s speech in the same body on Nov. 1. Moon’s “five principles for realizing peace” are hardly in line with Trump’s “peace through strength.” It’s obvious that Trump’s greatest interest is creating jobs in the US. Putting pressure on North Korea and subsequently promoting weapons sales also correspond with that objective. That’s not a position that South Korea can get behind.

And so the Moon administration is saddled with an even bigger burden after Trump’s visit. Seoul succeeded in having Trump publicly declare that there is no “bypassing Korea” (the alleged sidelining of South Korea in northeast Asian politics). Now Seoul has an even greater responsibility to use this as a launchpad for proposing a breakthrough in North Korean policy and for ensuring that the Trump administration gets on board.

In addition, Moon needs to take advantage of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC summit on Nov. 10 and 11 to genuinely restore relations with China. After having gained the initiative in relations with the US through Trump’s visit, Seoul now has more leeway in its relations with China. This also points to the increased importance of South Korea’s ability to maintain balance between the US and China. Now that Trump has departed, the Moon administration’s foreign policy needs to continue progressing in the right direction.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]