WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said that he plans to visit the country's southwestern border with Mexico early next year for groundbreaking.

Trump has made securing the southern border a focal point of his presidency, with plans to beef up border security and create a wall as key components.

In an interaction with reporters during his surprise visit to Iraq with First Lady Melania, Trump said he wants to visit the border wall before the State of the Union Address next year.

This is his first visit to Iraq as the US President.

Trump said he is planning on "going to the wall" on the Southwest Border of the US early next year for a "groundbreaking".

Trump made these remarks while taking questions from reporters during a briefing with US military leaders shortly after landing in Iraq.

Trump indicated that he will not budge from his position on border wall. With the opposition Democrats refusing to approve the necessary funds, the federal government has been under a partial government shutdown for four days now.

"Whatever it takes. We need a wall. We need safety for our country. Even from this standpoint. We have terrorists coming in through the southern border," Trump said when asked how long this shutdown would last.

