The chief of internet giant Google Eric Schmidt has begun a controversial private visit to North Korea, accompanied by the former governor of the New Mexico Bill Richardson.
Whilst the purpose of the trip remains unclear, Richardson told press that he planned on attempting to meet Kenneth Bae, a detained US citizen. Richardson went on to say,
“This is not a Google trip, but I’m sure he’s interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect. So this is why we are teamed up on this... We’ll meet with North Korean political leaders. We’ll meet with North Korean economic leaders, military. We’ll visit some universities. We don’t control the visit. They will let us know what the schedule is when we get there,”
The visit has drawn sharp criticism from the US, with State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland saying,
“As you know, they are private citizens. They are travelling in an unofficial capacity. They are not going to be accompanied by any U.S. officials. They are not carrying any messages from us. Frankly, we don’t think the timing of this is particularly helpful, but they are private citizens and they are making their own decisions… they’re well aware of our views… They are not going on our behalf. No American official is going with them. They are not carrying any messages from us.
Well, obviously we support internet freedom around the world. We support the right of all people to have access to the internet, and we oppose government restrictions on that wherever they are found. That said, all U.S. companies are subject to the U.S. sanctions regime with regard to the D.P.R.K.”
The Guardian reported an anonymous US official as having said,
"We are in kind of a classical provocation period with North Korea. Usually, their missile launches are followed by nuclear tests... During these periods, it's very important that the international community come together, certainly at the level of the UN security council, to demonstrate to North Korea that they pay a price for not living up to their obligations".
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