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Richardson begins N. Korea mission

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 9, 2007

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor who has undertaken diplomatic missions to countries at odds with the United States, began a visit to isolated North Korea on Sunday to recover remains of American servicemembers killed in the Korean War.

The four-day trip, which has been endorsed by the Bush administration, comes days before a crucial deadline in a recent nuclear disarmament accord. But Richardson, a Democratic candidate for president, said he had no intention of negotiating nuclear matters.

"It could be the signal of an improved relationship," Richardson said of the discussions to secure U.S. remains. "The North Koreans always consider protocol very important. They like to be considered a major power in the region," he told the Associated Press on the flight to the capital, Pyongyang.

Richardson has regularly made diplomatic trips, often on his own initiative, to a number of global hot spots. Though visits to North Korea by senior U.S. officials are rare, this was Richardson's sixth.

A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, Richardson also visited Sudan in January to try to end four years of fighting in the Darfur region.

Richardson said the timing of his visit is important and will show North Korea the United States' good intentions. He said the North Koreans will understand the symbolism of a delegation that includes Anthony Principi, President Bush's former veteran affairs secretary, and Victor Cha, a top adviser on North Korea.

North Korean Defense Minister Vice Marshal Kim Il Chol praised the country's nuclear program on Sunday at a meeting of top officials and said the North "has legitimately ranked itself among the nuclear weapons states," according to a report from the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea made a breakthrough agreement on nuclear disarmament on Feb. 13 that included a deadline for the North to shut down its main nuclear reactor by Saturday. But the North has refused further negotiations due to the delayed transfer of $25-million in the regime's money frozen by Macau authorities after the United States blacklisted a bank in that Chinese administrative region in 2005.

The State Department said Friday that a hitch stalling the release of the funds had been resolved, potentially clearing the way for the disbursement of the money. No details were released on when or how the money would be transferred.

N. Korea boasts of its nuclear status

North Korean Defense Minister Vice Marshal Kim Il Chol praised the country's nuclear program on Sunday at a meeting of top officials and said the North "has legitimately ranked itself among the nuclear weapons states," according to a report from the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea made a breakthrough agreement on nuclear disarmament on Feb. 13 that included an April 14 deadline for the North to shut down its main nuclear reactor. But the North has refused further negotiations due to the delayed transfer of $25-million in the regime's money frozen by Macau authorities after the U.S. blacklisted a bank in that Chinese administrative region in 2005.

The State Department said Friday that a hitch stalling the release of the funds had been resolved, potentially clearing the way for the disbursement of the money. No details were released on when or how the money would be transferred.

[Last modified April 9, 2007, 01:34:39]