Richardson instrumental in North Korea’s disarming

Gov. Bill Richardson is once again gaining international attention for his diplomatic skills.

This time, his long relationship with the North Koreans paid off in allowing him to help smooth the way for the implementation of that nation’s agreement shut down its nuclear weapons program.

The North Korean government agreed on Feb. 13 to do so, but had done little to meet the 60-day deadline to begin shutting down the program. The country was insisting it would do so only after $25 million in frozen funds were released.

The money in dispute was in a Chinese bank and was frozen in 2005 after the United States accused the bank of helping North Korea launder money and handle counterfeit U.S. money.

Richardson, who was in North Korea to secure the release of remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean war, helped smooth the way for the deal to be reached by easing tensions and opening a dialogue while the United States worked to free the funds.

The United States government said on Tuesday that the funds would be released. Tuesday evening, NBC was the first to report that, when Richardson took the news to the North Koreans, they agreed to begin shutting down their program within a day of receiving the funds.

The first step will be to let in U.N. inspectors and begin drafting terms for shutting down North Korea’s nuclear reactor, which Richardson expects to happen as soon as the money is released.

“The North Korean government told us that, with that issue resolved, (it) would move promptly, within a day after receiving the funds,” Richardson said at a news conference today in South Korea, according to AFP.

Though the agreement was result of a bipartisan effort in the United States and cooperation with other nations, Richardson has been instrumental in smoothing relations that opened a dialogue between the United States and North Korea. He has visited the nation several times since his days as a congressman, and a delegation from the nation has visited Santa Fe twice to meet with Richardson since he became governor.

When the North Koreans want to talk with an American, they call on Richardson.

It’s no accident that Richardson and the North Koreans wanted to get together to talk days before a deadline arrived on fragile agreement that could have easily fallen apart.

“This is one of the most important reasons Bill Richardson is the best qualified to be the next president of the United States,” Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said.