Richardson: N. Korean Pledges No Nuke Weapons

Reuters via Lycos.com ^ | 01/11/2003

[GeneD]

SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - U.S. diplomatic trouble-shooter Bill Richardson ended three-days of talks with a senior North Korean official on Saturday with a pledge the reclusive communist state will not develop nuclear weapons.

Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and now the Democratic governor of New Mexico, said he now had hopes rising tensions could be solved peacefully through diplomacy.

"The North Koreans told me that they don't plan to build nuclear weapons and I took that as a positive statement," Richardson told reporters after concluding almost nine hours of talks since Thursday with Han Song Ryol, a high-ranking member of the North Korean delegation to the United Nations.

Richardson, a skilled diplomatic trouble-shooter under former President Bill Clinton, said he was acting as a conduit between the Republican administration of President Bush and Pyongyang.

He said the onus was now on Pyongyang and Washington to reduce tensions raised when North Korea announced on Friday it was withdrawing from the global treaty to stem the spread of atomic weapons and on Saturday when it threatened to end a moratorium on missile testing.

"Ambassador Han has expressed to me North Korea's willingness to have better relations with the United States. He told me the government of North Korea wants to resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue," Richardson said.

Richardson, who has negotiated with North Korean officials before said he was encouraged by those statements. He said the talks held at the governor's mansion covered a wide array of bilateral issues and described the discussions as positive, constructive and frank.

"I think they've eased tensions a bit," he said.

Richardson said that while he is not an envoy of the Bush administration, he has been in constant contact with Secretary of State Colin Powell and has delivered harsh words from Washington to the North Korean diplomat.

Richardson said he expressed his concern over Pyongyang's withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the missile test warning.

"I think the governor is a tough negotiator," Han told a press conference in a short statement where he also thanked Richardson and the people of New Mexico for hosting the talks.

NEW GROUND?

Washington, meanwhile has downplayed the prospect of any new ground being covered in the discussions. The talks in Santa Fe were scheduled for two days, but were extended to a third.

North Korea, one of the world's most secretive and isolated states, has had the world on tenterhooks since earlier this month when it shut down monitoring equipment, expelled two U.N. weapons inspectors and threatened to reactivate a nuclear plant capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium.

Tensions have been rising since Pyongyang admitted last October that it had pursued a nuclear arms program in violation of a 1994 agreement.

Richardson, who was also secretary of energy in the Clinton administration, was active in U.S.-North Korean relations in the 1990s.

In 1996, as a member of the House of Representatives, he successfully negotiated the release of a U.S. citizen detained by Pyongyang on espionage charges, and in 1994 worked to free a U.S. helicopter pilot who crossed the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

Washington has offered to talk with North Korea about its nuclear ambitions but has refused to negotiate or offer incentives. North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations on Friday condemned that position as insincere.

Richardson, who became New Mexico's governor less than two weeks ago, said his main role during these talks was to listen to what Han to say and report back to U.S. officials.

Richardson and Han have sat down together at the bargaining table before and their nuclear talks have also been spiced with working dinners where Richardson has taken the North Korean envoy to meals featuring New Mexico's famous green chili.

[Kevin Curry]

I'm sure the Clinton administration knew every word that passed between Kim Il Sung and Jimmy Carter in 1994, too. Kim Il Sung's assurances to the future Nobel laureate weren't even a speed bump on the highway to weapon development.

[robertpaulsen]

I had to double-check the date; I thought someone was posting an old 1994 article.

[VMI70]

"The North Koreans told me that they don't plan to build nuclear weapons ..."

Do you think Bill asked them how many they already had? If he did, do you think they lied?

This was a farce--Bill Richardson has no standing to be negotiating with the NKs. Someone said earlier that this was simply a designed time buyer. COuld be, but there had to be another way to do it.

[Kevin Curry]

Bill Richardson: "They promised me 'no nukes.' Can I have my Nobel Peace Prize now?"

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Commie pimp exclaims "Heil, Slick Villie."

[realwoman]

I (a New Mexican) don't deserve that piece of sh!t! I didn't vote for him!

[spartan68]

Gene, ol' buddy, ya forgot the

"MEGA CHEST WADER ALERT"

[b4its2late]

And no doubt the dumb ass believes the North Korean Commies.....

[AmishDude]

I like your style.

[Drango]

A pledge? For a second I thought Richarson and the North Koreans had pledged to FreeRepublic. (hint, hint)

[Toskrin]

You can't negotiate with liars.
reminds me of the Henry Rollins song "Liar"
-----
you think you're gonna to live your life alone
in darkness
and seclusion
yeah I know
you've been out there
tried to mix with those animals
and it just left you full of humiliated confusion
so you stagger back home
and wait for nothing
but the solitary refinement of your room spits you back out onto the street
and now you're desperate
and in need of human contact
and then
you meet me
and you whole world changes
because everything I say is everything you've ever wanted to hear
so you drop all your defenses and you drop all your fears
and you trust me completely
I'm perfect
in every way
cause I make you feel so strong and so powerful inside
you feel so lucky
but your ego obscures reality
and you never bother to wonder why
things are going so well
you wanna know why?
cause I'm a liar
yeah I'm a liar
I'll tear your mind out
I'll burn your soul
I'll turn you into me
I'll turn you into me
cause I'm a liar, a liar
a liar, a liar

I'll hide behind a smile
and understanding eyes
and I'll tell you things that you already know
so you can say
I really identify with you, so much
and all the time that you're needing me
is just the time that I'm bleeding you
don't you get it yet?
I'll come to you like an affliction
and I'll leave you like an addiction
you'll never forget me
you wanna know why?
cause I'm a liar
yeah I'm a liar
I'll rip your mind out
I'll burn your soul
I'll turn you into me
I'll turn you into me
cause I'm a liar, a liar
liar, liar, liar, liar

I don't know why I feel the need to lie
and cause you so much pain
maybe it's something inside
maybe it's something I can't explain
cause all I do
is mess you up and lie to you
I'm a liar
oh, I am a liar

if you'll give me one more chance
I swear that I will never lie to you again
because now I see the destructive power of a lie
they're stronger than truth
I can't believe I ever hurt you
I swear
I will never to you lie again, please
just give me one more chance
I will never lie to you again
I swear
that I will never tell a lie
I will never tell a lie
no, no
ha ha ha ha ha hah haa haa haa haaa
sucker
sucker!
oh, sucker
I am a liar
yeah, I am a liar
yeah I like it
I feel good
ohh I am a liar
yeah
I lie
I lie
I lie
oh, I lie
oh I lie
I lie
yeah
ohhh I'm a liar
I lie
yeah
I like it
I feel good
I'll lie again
and again
I'll lie again and again
and I'll keep lying
I promise

[Miss Marple]

I gree with you. I heard the press conference. Richardson made a point of saying that he agreed with the policy of the United States, and that he was going to report to Colin Powell and that he had NO official standing. He was very deferential to the administration, walking on egg shells, as you pointed out.

[lds23]

He said the onus was now on Pyongyang and Washington to reduce tensions

Typical Clinton-era move: Declare victory, have no concrete action, pass the buck, let it fester and reappear later, then be able to claim "hey, I tried"

[Miss Marple]

Should read "agree."

[clintonh8r]

As parting gifts, Taco Bill gave his NoKo pals some hard drives from Los Alamos...

[Tench_Coxe]

And here is a photograph of Mr. Richardson returning from North Korea, promise in hand of no pursual of a North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program ( Mr. Richardson is the one on the left, holding up a piece of paper while telling the crowd that 'we shall have peace in our time'):

[widowithfoursons]

I'll tell you what; I lived in Rio Rancho for a year (didn't leave earlier because I didn't want to interrupt my kids' school). Gary was Gov then (what a flake). It was like living in Monterrey, Mex. Talk about being a minority!! I speak fine Spanish, and probably got better treatment because of that. Those cops there all have shaved heads, and behave like storm troopers. It's a scary place. (All I wanted to do was be close to good skiing locaions). I'll never go back, even though I love balloons.

[Tex-Con-Man]

The North Koreans clearly understand who they can lie to.

[savedbygrace]

U.S. diplomatic trouble-shooter Bill Richardson ended three-days of talks with a senior North Korean official on Saturday with a pledge the reclusive communist state will not develop nuclear weapons.

Hahahahahahahaha. Bill believed Clinton, too.

[Norman Arbuthnot]

What next? Madame Albright going back over to NK to deliver more basketballs signed by Michael Jordan to the Dear Leader (she really that did that back in 94).

Of course Richardson accomplished NOTHING and basically said so in diplo-speak. Maybe that's why the NK ambassador described him as a "tough negotiator" . At his press conference this morning Richardson actually said something like "the ball is now in court of NK and the US and now the two sides have to talk. " Wow, that was brilliant work. I can't believe this guy is held in such high regard by Rats, like he is some sort diplomatic top gun. I think we should be thankful he really had no power to negotiate because God only knows what kind of concessions would have already been made to the NK's. If Richardson were representing a Rat administration right now he would probably be announcing the doubling of oil and grain shipments to NK.