Friday, March 30, 2007

Bill Richardson making trip to North Korea

Back when the Bush Administration was ratcheting up sanctions, I mused on the option of sending someone like Gov. Richardson over to North Korea for diplomatic talks. Among other things, Bill Richardson is no stranger to North Korea, having visited the isolated country several times as a congressman during the 1990's.

AP reports today that Bill Richardson will travel to North Korea in April, according to officials. Richardson will talk to government officials, though it is not clear what the topic of discussions will be. "They spoke on condition of anonymity because plans were still being completed."

While no doubt some presidential aspirations factor into the motivation stream, with Bill Richardson either a Democratic dark horse, or a Vice President on someone else's ticket, the fact remains that he has a good international track record as far as making friends, not foes.

"The New Mexico governor is a frequent diplomatic traveler. He was in Sudan in January to meet with government leaders and made a trip to the Darfur region where he visited refugee camps."

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