By Can someone please tell me what diplomatic troubleshooting is this journalist talking about?:
Diplomatic troubleshooter Bill Richardson, visiting Pyongyang to try to ease tensions between North and South Korea, said the situation was “a tinderbox”, but urged the North to show restraint and allow contentious military exercises by the South to go ahead.
Richardson said in an interview on CNN he had met with a senior North Korean official and urged “let’s cool things down.”
“I am urging them extreme restraint … Let’s cool things down. No response. Let the exercises take place,” Richardson said.
He said he met Friday with North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator and was scheduled to hold talks with the head of the military on Saturday.
“I think I made a little headway,” he said in a telephone interview with CNN. [Associated Press]
So what head way did he make you may ask? Well nothing new:
Richardson suggested the North and South consider holding a summit meeting to discuss ways to avoid an altercation.
“Right now this is a tinderbox. What we need to do right now is not just tamp things down but look at steps that can be taken by the North Koreans, especially such as perhaps allowing the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to come in and look at the nuclear arsenal.”
Wow! Talk about a diplomatic troubleshooter. Recommending a summit and international nuclear inspectors as if this hasn’t already been tried before multiple times. This sounds more like what the North Koreans are telling him instead of any troubleshooting from Bill Richardson. The North Koreans would love to have negotiations with promises of aid given to them for attending in return for vague promises of denuclearizing which they will never do. It seems like Bill Richardson is just a mouth piece for what the Kim regime is telling him, which is good reason to call him Kim Jong-Bill. I and others have said this over and over again that the North Koreans have no intention of disarming and the North Koreans have repeatedly said this as well.
Richardson has been lobbying hard for months to go to North Korea so he can get the fawning media coverage like this article. Like all his other trips to North Korea, if something comes out of this trip it is something that was pre-determined not something he actually troubleshooted. Whenever Bill Richardson gets involved my concern for a sell out of some kind rises. My biggest concern is that a new round of six-party talks with aid used as a “good will gesture” will be announced, which of course will go no where, but the media will declare this as some great diplomatic victory. Richardson will of course call this his latest “breakthrough”.
I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens, but this could be deja vu all over again.
10:00 pm on December 17th, 2010 1
Richardson says he told the North Koreans to let things cool down, not to respond to the South Korean exercises which are expected to happen soon. That sounds pretty good to me.
He suggested negotiation and inspection. He didn't suggest promises of aid. GI Korea threw that extra detail in.
I don't understand the disdain for Richardson.
11:53 pm on December 17th, 2010 2
Richardson's such a great starter.
A doer instead of a martyr.
But, even right on the dot,
he hasn't a shot.
'cause, of course, he's no Jimmy Carter.
…or not.
12:41 am on December 18th, 2010 3
I have more qualifications to talk to the North than Richardson does.
I have enough to know that TALKING to the North is a waste of time.
1:09 am on December 18th, 2010 4
Why do I have the feeling Richardson is either 1) considering a run for the presidency in 2012 or 2) seeking a position in BHO's cabinet. Seriously, do ANY of us think the norKs are going to do or not do something just because Bill Richardson, the governor of a small, ineffectual state, asks them to? Those of us familiar with Korea know how 'position' is respected more than anything and I really don't believe the norK's see Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson as anybody of import. But he is a good tool for them to use.
4:17 am on December 18th, 2010 5
Thomas Lee, he already ran for president (and in a year of firsts, would have been the first Hispanic president instead of the first Black, woman, or Vietnamese People's Army sleeper). And he was already offered a cabinet position in the Barack Hussein Obama administration.
Like Glans, I don't get the disdain for Richardson here or at One Free Korea. Is merely talking with the North Koreans enough to qualify, because if that's what the criterion is, it's kinda dumb. After all, you still need to communicate with your enemies.
Bill Richardson is also a former Secretary of Energy, so he's conversant in the nuclear issues and minutiae facing the US vis-à-vis North Korea. He's also the former US Ambassador to the United Nations and is therefore one of the few in Washington who has had direct diplomatic dealings with the North Koreans, perhaps enough to cultivate a relationship of frankness with them.
Governor Richardson’s role with the North Koreans has been to (a) fish out Americans who ended up in North Korea because of their own stupidity and (b) serve as a conduit for communications between Pyongyang and Washington without acquiescing to their demands.
That last task is a thankless but necessary one, and frankly, I would rather have someone the North Koreans feel comfortable dealing with talking to them than have them feeling the only way they can “communicate” is by firing things into nearby air, water, or land. (Full disclosure, I voted for Bill Richardson, the only Democratic presidential candidate to be approved by the NRA, including in the presidential election, when I wrote his name in as a protest vote against Barack Hussein Obama for his incessant Korea and Japan bashing.)
4:43 am on December 18th, 2010 6
Yes, I know he ran last time and I know he has "some" credentials. I actually like him and he seems like a very personable guy, but why have Blitzer tag along? If what he's doing really is all about trying to bridge a gap and bring peace, why even take media. Just go alone. When I saw he and Wolf were traveling together, it put a bad taste in my mouth regarding his overall motives. Plus, he hasn't accomplished anything in the past, so what makes him think anything will be different this time? His initial reports are not impressive. All I hear is, "yada, yada, yada". I hope I'm wrong. Truly I do.
5:07 am on December 18th, 2010 7
Thoma Lee #4. I think your second point hit the nail on the head. The NK will just tell him some Bravo Sierra & will continue to do what they want. Lenin said that agreements made with capitalist countries were like pie crust, they were made to be broken. Bill Richardson was very close to the Clintons & since President Obama is the president now he wants to be a part of the administration. GI Korea, Kim Jong-Bill, hilarious!
5:27 am on December 18th, 2010 8
The U.S. is obviously not in a position to do anything different about North Korea. Or at least the game plan is the same as it has been..just wait them out until the next leader dies and maybe it'll collapse.
If S. Korea won't do anything about N. Korea and if China won't do anything about N. Korea and if Russia won't do anything about N. Korea then why should the U.S.?
7:05 am on December 18th, 2010 9
"I don’t get the disdain for Richardson here"
It probably has something to do with the dismal economy in New Mexico which faces a host of very real problems from unemployment to illegal aliens.
Instead of doing something truly productive for the state, or even America, his is grasping at some internationl attention through actions that most see as a complete waste of effort… and he is doing it with time and money that could be better spent improving the situation of Americans instead of padding his resume for future political ambition.
That would be my guess, at least.
7:52 am on December 18th, 2010 10
ChickenHead, by "here," I meant here at ROK Drop. I don't get the disdain for Richardson here at ROK Drop.
As for your speculation, my ex who is from New Mexico has an entirely different take on that. New Mexicans are generally quite proud of their skilled and globally prominent governor. He has been acting as a conduit between Washington and Pyongyang for three administrations now. Not long after doing the same for Bush43, he was re-elected to the governorship with 68% of the vote, so I don't think that "most see [it] as a complete waste of effort."
9:10 am on December 18th, 2010 11
After Richardson dropped out of the presidential election, he endorsed Obama. That ended his close relations with the Clintons.
10:59 am on December 18th, 2010 12
Kushibo
Other than Bill Richardson, there isn't much for New Mexicans to be proud about. When ones bar isn't very high, even a piss-ant looks like a giant.
I know, I know; there are some very beautiful places in New Mexico. Ok, but outside of Taos, Sante Fe and a few other places, there's not much in the state (being from Texas, I've driven all over the state on numerous occasions), especially in terms of any industry or any kind of self-sustaining economic base. The last numbers I saw so that New Mexico receives from the Federal Government something like $2.25 for ever $1.00 they send to Washington. That's why the New Mexicans love him.
2:38 pm on December 18th, 2010 13
The moment Richardson allowed the North Koreans to parade him around the USS Pueblo as a propaganda show piece he lost all respect from me. He has accomplished nothing despite all his contact with the North Koreans and just serves as a mouth piece for what the regime wants to say. He is quite willing to continue to be the mouth piece because he enjoys the media attention. It is quite clear his latest contact with the North Koreans he is using to boost his profile with the media as well. Why else did he bring Wolf Blitzer with him?
6:00 pm on December 18th, 2010 14
From what I seeing from reports, it would seem the Norks are agreeing to re-establish a hotline with they (DPRK) cut-off after RoK went on anti-subs exercises in May 2010, after the sinking of the Cheonan. Then to get the cash flow going again they wave pics of a couple dogs tags and possible US servicemembers remain in front of Richardson in a affect to get the joint US-NORK recovery effort going again.
Man I bet ole Kim and Mini-kimmie are sitting back looking forward to a bountyful X-mas courtesy good ole USA.
As GI stated A profile Boost for all.
6:19 pm on December 18th, 2010 15
The North even got the U.N. Security Council to react to their threats by calling an emergency session.
The North reminds me of the kid we all knew. The one who was always instigating and talking a great fight, and at the same time you see he was stalling and expecting someone to step in and break it up. That worked until no one stepped in to break it up and you saw the look of panic on his face when he knew he was about to get his a$$ kicked.
The Security Council shouldn't be providing cover for them.
6:20 pm on December 18th, 2010 16
Why did they send this hack? Where o where is Jimmy Carter when we need him most?
6:30 pm on December 18th, 2010 17
Leon LaPorte 16, they didn't send Richardson. The North Koreans invited him. And if the Norks send a message through him, that's not as bad as shelling a South Korean island.
12:42 am on December 19th, 2010 18
Glans,
Did they invite good ole Wolf too?
I have questions about whether they invited him (Richardson) first, or if Richardson was invited after he asked them to invite him.
I've searched high and low and can't find one article that says he was invited. They just all say he decided to make a trip.
WASHINGTON — New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a veteran troubleshooter, said Wednesday he will make a private visit to North Korea next week in a bid to defuse soaring tension on the Korean peninsula.
1:12 am on December 19th, 2010 19
I did find an article or two that says he was "invited", but again, was that before or after he asked to be invited?
4:21 pm on December 19th, 2010 20
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) — North Korea said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson met Monday with a ranking official of the communist country to deliver "a present" for leader Kim Jong-il.
4:26 pm on December 19th, 2010 21
Maui #20. Maybe it was a beautiful sculpture of Kim Il Sung that had a time bomb concealed inside.
4:30 pm on December 19th, 2010 22
2:04 am on December 20th, 2010 23
@ #17, Glans I really hope you don't mean that Richardson caused the North Koreans to not launch an attack again? This is all staged by the North Koreans and Richardson is willing to play the part for him to get the media attention he craves. He craves the attention so much as I mentioned before he allowed himself to be used for political propaganda purposes on the USS Pueblo. He should have never stepped foot on that ship.