Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Even though Gov. Bill Richardson’s trip to North Korea isn’t an official U.S. mission, by inserting himself into the tense situation Richardson remains a key player in international relations.
Both North Korea and the United States may be sending messages to each other through Richardson’s unofficial trip. He arrived this morning in Pyongyang.
“Whenever the North Koreans contact me, they always want to send a message of some kind,” Richardson told reporters during a stop in Beijing on the way to North Korea. “My hope is that they provide messages that can lessen tensions on the Korean peninsula.”
Pundit Anne Penketh argues today in The Hill that Richardson’s trip also “says something about the strategic direction of President Obama’s foreign policy regarding his two most biggest challenges: North Korea and Iran.”
“Multilateralism, yes, but the big problems of the day can only be resolved by a hard-headed direct conversation. Not war and not appeasement,” Penketh wrote.
The issue is China, which “doesn’t do diplomacy” and is pursuing its own strategic goals in the region – goals that “might not coincide with those of the U.S. on North Korea.”
Enter Richardson, who Penketh wrote will “return with priceless intelligence on the direction of the regime. So Obama is switching from a multilateral channel to a bilateral one.”
‘Considerable experience in dealing with the North Koreans’
Richardson knows what’s at stake, both for international affairs and for himself as his rocky tenure as New Mexico’s governor comes to an end. He invited CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to travel with him to North Korea.
Richardson says he plans to stay in New Mexico after he says goodbye to the Roundhouse in a couple of weeks. But that doesn’t mean he plans to stay out of the national – and international – spotlight.
“We are heading to North Korea in hopes of bringing peace,” Richardson told reporters in Beijing. “… I hope I can help out. I hope I can make a difference.” That’s a message Richardson wants to be certain is broadcast by CNN.
But a statement from Richardson’s office also mentions that he has “considerable experience in dealing with the North Koreans.” As he’s about to lose his job, Richardson wants CNN to remind people of the fact that he is a skilled global troubleshooter who has made a difference in tense situations – and that he’s not done yet.
It appears that Obama and the North Koreans aren’t the only ones sending messages through Richardson’s trip.