MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush never missed a chance to lash out at North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Il, but he did not even mention North Korea in his latest State of the Union Address.

There must be a reason for this. It is doubtful that the United States has suddenly forgotten all about Pyongyang. In his 2002 State of the Union address, Bush included North Korea in the "axis of evil" and has since accused it of cheating and human rights violations. He also called it one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

But this time, the U.S. president did not say a word about it, though recently U.S. officials have criticized North Korea for not abiding by its nuclear disarmament commitments.

Analysts have different explanations for Bush's decision not to mention North Korea in his latest State of the Union address. Bush did not wish to irritate Pyongyang because his foreign policy is beset with problems and the use of force has not produced success. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime was overthrown in April 2003, but the war in Iraq is still going on and the end is nowhere in sight. The United States still has 160,000 soldiers there.

The recently disclosed U.S. intelligence information, or National Intelligence Estimate, proves the Islamic Republic of Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but the United States insists it is dangerous and it is necessary to adopt tough sanctions against it.