Richardson leaves Sunday on North Korea trip

Gov. Bill Richardson will leave Sunday on a trip to North Korea aimed at securing the release of remains of missing servicemen.

The White House announced today that Richardson will lead a bipartisan U.S. delegation on the trip, according to Reuters. The group will leave Sunday and return Wednesday.

Richardson and Anthony Principi, former veterans affairs secretary, will head the group.

“Governor Richardson is pleased to jointly head, along with former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, a bipartisan delegation of Americans to facilitate the release of remains of U.S. serviceman,” Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. “Hopefully, this trip will advance the progress made by the Bush Administration during the six-party talks to dismantle nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.”

Richardson has a strong relationship with the North Koreans and has negotiated with them several times in North Korea and New Mexico. He has sought the remains of U.S. servicemen in the past and, in the mid-1990s, secured the release of the remains of one Army pilot killed when his helicopter was shot down by the North Koreans.