U.S. President Barack Obama could mention North Korea in his State of the Union address set for next week as cyber-security is expected to be a key topic in the speech, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

Obama has made cyber-security a top priority for this year after North Korea's alleged hacking attack on Sony Pictures. This week, the Twitter and YouTube accounts for the U.S. Central Command were also taken over by hackers who claimed to be working on behalf of Islamic State militants.

On Monday, Obama put forward a fresh legislative proposal encouraging companies to share threat information with the government, and on Tuesday he proposed strengthening laws against identity theft by requiring notification when consumer information is hacked.

The White House also plans to host a cyber-security summit at Stanford University next month.

"Cyber-secrity is expected to be a key part of President Obama's State of the Union address," a diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity. "In this context, there is a possibility of him making a mention of North Korea."

After the FBI determined the North was responsible for the hack on Sony, Obama condemned the attack and vowed to respond proportionally. Early this month, Obama authorized fresh sanctions on North Korean entities and officials.

Obama made no mention of the North in last year's State of the Union address or in his address at the U.N. General Assembly in September, reinforcing views that the communist nation has been pushed onto the back burner. (Yonhap)