(CNN) – A day after meeting with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, two North Korean diplomats will meet Thursday with community and business leaders in the state to discuss renewable energy initiatives, the governor's office said.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the governor would not be part of the briefings because he would be in Las Cruces. However, the governor will try to meet them at the Albuquerque airport before they leave, Gallegos said.
After meeting Wednesday with Kim Myong Gil and Taek Jong Ho - senior diplomats with the North Korean mission to the United Nations - Richardson said that North Korea wanted direct talks with the United States.
"I think there's a little bit of a thaw," he told CNN's American Morning on Thursday. "I think they wanted to basically send a message that they're ready to engage in a dialogue with the United States."
He had said Wednesday that North Korea believed it is owed bilateral talks with the United States after the communist government released two detained American journalists this month, and that Pyongyang did not want the six-party talks, which had been aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program.
Senior Obama administration officials quickly rejected the notion, saying that six-party talks are still the proper venue for such a dialogue. They emphasized that Richardson was not negotiating on the president's behalf.
The administration officials said North Korea can choose one of two paths: either continued provocation by testing missiles or a more peaceful road on which they live up to previous commitments.
Richardson suggested Thursday that a compromise within six-party talks might best handle the situation. "Have some bilateral discussions with the North Koreans," he said.
"Call it all an adjunct of the six-party talks. But this is diplomacy, this is engagement, so I think both sides need to come together on some
formulation, and I think the atmosphere is a lot better to do that."
He said the North Koreans "basically said everything was on the table," in terms of what they would discuss.
The North Korean diplomats' visit comes after former President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea to gain the release of the two detained U.S.
journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. During the visit Clinton met with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, whose government is under U.N. sanctions for its efforts to develop a nuclear weapons program.
"They do feel they are owed a gesture on the U.S. part," Richardson said Wednesday, adding, "I don't believe that should be the case because this was a humanitarian gesture that needed to happen."
The White House has said that Clinton was not carrying any message - written or oral - from President Barack Obama, and it described Clinton's trip as a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans."
Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has traveled to North Korea several times, most recently in April 2007 to secure the return of the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War.
He said the North Korean officials had approached him with the idea of this latest meeting.
–CNN's Ed Henry, Paul Vercammen, Elise Labott and Candy Crowley contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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"I think there's a little bit of a thaw," he told CNN's American Morning on Thursday. "I think they wanted to basically send a message that they're ready to engage in a dialogue with the United States."
Dialog shmialog. Only narcisstic obamabots want to talk to our enemys. We need to shoot nukular bombs at them and then invade them. We'll be greeted as liberators! Have a nice day!
billy, do not worry about north korea....just keep working on fixing our nation's Healrh care. You all bring dems, I don't care whether blue dogs or blue cats, all dems need to stay together and fix this health care with public option.....GOP thugs are scaring our seniors...america's seniors...you do not lose a dime, nor your health care coverage...with it...you get benifited a lot....let us all pass this health care reform with public option....GOP is half dead with sonia sotomayer appointment with hispanic votes...if this needed (MUCH) bill not passed these GOP is totally dead in USA!!!!GOP don't be idiots....ok...Democrats, pass without GOP....if they do not cooperate....nation needs this health care reform with public option is a dire necessity....God bless pres. obama....for you Ed Henry, and Lou Dobbs, don't act funny, and don't be idiotic...we need this legislation now...in america...than ever before...ok God bless pres. obama...and USA!!!!!Amen
First Hillary says some negative stuff about N Korea needing to abide by the agreements they originally agreed to, then some reporters working for Al Gore mistakingly wander into N Korea and are captured and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, then Bill heads off to N Korea and gets them freed and then Hillary takes a shot at some students in Africa because of an interpreter misinterpreting a question and now Richardson has a meeting with N Korean officials who think because they were good guys, they should get a break and BO repeats what Hillary originally said and meanwhile Bill and Hillary are doing one of their rare get togethers prompted by the recent news surrounding who was hired to do what job. They will be dancing on the beach again.
The script has been written and Bill and Hillary are really working on a book deal this weekend for all of the above.
Obama is saying he will not meet with N.K. until they do certain things.
Wasn't that what Hillary was saying during the presidential debates when he said he would meet with anyone in the world?
So he is doing what he faulted her for. Well that was a long time ago and he figures he can break promises older than so many days I guess.
Messiah meets reality.
I wish he would just be a truthful, straightforward liberal like he advertized. (and bring ALL the troops home)
Hillary Clinton is more than qualified. I think the North Koreans have a problem with women. Well until they get over it, I think it is wrong for POTUS to allow others to go over and talk. Former Bill Clinton is one thing, but New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.... is out of place. I think POTUS is not treating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fairly and that is probably why she went off in Africa. I don't blame her. A lot of people support Hillary Clinton and we don't appreciate the slight treatment she seems to be getting.
It will be great if we can once again talk with North Korea. If talking with these folks will keep peace in the world we need to do just that. Alot of people fault Obama for wanting to talk with our enemies. He is doing the right thing by talking with everyone. The Bush Administration refused to talk with anyone and look where it got us. Bush caused our country to be alone when we could have used some help. His my way or the highway got us nowhere. He came across as a hard headed cowboy and I am glad he is gone. God Bess Obama!!
Look, hate North Korea all you want, there is NOTHING wrong with starting diplomatic relations with them. It would give them something to do besides threatening to shoot nukes at South Korea. On top of that, if we actually did make some progress, it would be an enormously positive development for our security and international prestige.
Richardson? Sounds icey to me. But dream on!!
Obama administration playing cards well in foreign affairs
I don’t know why they are avoiding in health care reform
Why is Hillary drawing a government check? Can I have the share of taxes I pay for her salary back please?
Join me in welcoming Bill Richardson as the new Secretary of State.
Where is Hillary?
There's other words for it....like APPEASEMENT and WEAKNESS.
Let's see where it gets us.
I'm getting confused. Somebody remind me, who is the Secretary of State again?
does Hillary still work here??
I wonder what Hillary Clinton thinks about the governor of New Mexico doing her job for her?
Looks like Secretary Clinton is being sidelined by the administration, no?
Bill Clinton and Bill Richardson deal with North Korea.
Sen. Webb meets with Burmese Junta.
Why do we have a Secretary of State? What are we paying Hillary Clinton for?
get to work Hillary!
Thanks to Governor Richardson's contributions as a top diplomat to the world! I hope President Obama to pick him as our next Secretary of State.
May I ask what we are paying Hillary for?? OH YEAH – to keep out of the '12 race.
Another Democrat accomplishing what a Republican could never do.
Oh well, Obama will just give them money. Just like he did for Brazil to do offshore drilling. Helping another one of his cronies George Soros. Just like Axelrod just helped his son where he works. See it just is Dem of Rebup. It is all of them. Lets get real and kick them all out
Hillary is history to this administration. N. Korea does not want to deal with her. She needs to return her Gov' t paycheck; she is not productive
If we were still under the GWB incompetent regime or a reactionary and senile McCain/Palin administration, these twoyoung ladies would not home, because the GOP has no one of any international stature with any shred of credibility in world affairs thanks to GOP bumbling of foriegn policy from 2000 to 2008.
Good job Mr President and team !
Hillary Clinton is doing an excellent job as our Secretary of State. But she still can use all the help she can get, whether it's her husband, Bill Richardson or any other diplomat out there, i.e. George Mitchell, Richard Holbrooke. The world is a complicated place and a lot of work needs to be done to keep peace and bring nations together to fight a common enemy, those who wish to destroy civilization, whether through nuclear bombs, or other lethal weaponry. If anyone can get North Korea to think with some semblance of sanity, then we should be all for it. Thus far they have seemed just too irratinal to work with, maybe things will change for the better. We'll see.
Diplomacy is not the simplistic "our way or the highway" approach of the Bush administration. Hillary is doing a great job restoring credibility and mending fences. Kudos to Obama for using unique avenues to achieve progress. Talking isn't appeasement. It is a path to possible improvement. Bill Richardson has the chops and the stature to open doors in a low key way that the full blown Secretary of State cannot do with countries like NK. Don't worry about Hillary. She is doing just fine and so is Obama on the international front.
I'm sure their eyes lit up when they saw the brief case full of goodies he handed over.
Amazing how people can communicate when not threatning each other.
Lemme guess...Limbaugh ranted about this showing Hillary doesn't do anything this morning? I'd know if I listened to him, but I'd rather the my nonsense entertainment come from something funny, like cartoons, instead of something hateful that slowly erodes my faith in humanity.
A little compromise is in order....the hand is extended on both ends..why not grasp it for the sake of peace....
Is it me....or has the Clinton regime been revived? First Bills trip, now Richardson, I"m sure if CNN digs a little they will see more for other countries....and Hillary , in her offical capacity, in Africa–which by the way is more significant than people are acknowleging.
Funny how Obama has come out in favor of 6 party talks, not one-on-one talks with North Korea; exactly the Bush Administration position all you Obamatrons bashed. He also has set conditions for talks, exactly what Hillary said during the campaign. Nothing to see here, move along, move along.
Looks like Hillary is being put on the back burner, again.
There are other places in the world for the Secretary of State to be. The reason it took them this long to do anything is because they knew they could get this done with a softer touch than Hilarys.
The administration is most likely sidelining her but if it gets the job done, so be it.
Gee, relations seem to be thawing and some people have a problem with it. They must be people who work at an ammo factory.
Does it really matter who gets N. Korea to have a dialogue with us? I mean really. Have you not heard the expression that there is more than one way to skin a cat? A new day has dawned where the new Obama administration will reach out to whoever they need to in order to get the job done. Change is working out very, very well for us thank you!
Theres always hope of a break through in relations,just look at the Ireland,how many years did it take to get a peace accord?Isnt religion great?
...And by the way, you know and I know that Hillary is a Godsend to this new White House. She is intelligent, peforms well under-pressure, and is not selfish. Hillary demonstrates what Country First truly means by allowing things to unfold for the good of the nation without having to claim full credit.
Make no mistake about it, Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State and none other. If the President of the United States calls upon you as a citizen or a former statesman/woman as many of our military people are called upon, it's your duty to respond if you are an American it's your call of duty.
For all of you wondering why Richardson is acting as if he was Sec of State, please remember that it was the North Koreans who sought him out and requested a meeting with him in his home state. Richardson has had experience in the past negotiating with the North Koreans, and they see him as an honorable man.
Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State and is working very hard, all over the world doing her job. Bill Richardson is acting as a diplomat and meeting with some North Koreans. Both are correct things to do and there is NOTHING WRONG WITH EITHER ONE! Jeesh . . . get a civics lesson, folks!
North Korea has realized it can take advantage of this administration's inherent weaknesses. They will break any promises made and continue to do whatever they want..... and we will have no bargaining power when Obama gets finished with this.
Unless you are sitting in the Oval Office or next to Sec. of State Clinton, spare us your inane speculations of the decision making process that's going on. What is going on is that one crazed loon named Kim Jong Il is talking with the US and not firing missiles or putting trespassers in hard labor camps.
You do whatever WORKS. Who knows if the nutbag didn't want to speak to Sec. of State Clinton? Sometimes the smartest move to make is knowing when to get out of the way and which assets in your arsenal to use. Richardson has been successful in NK in the past.
I know one way that didn't work, the 'Axis of Evil' speech. That didn't work, did it?
You people who are criticizing Sec of State Clinton have no idea how diplomacy works probably because it has been eight long years sonce it was practiced.
There is always initial talks by people not directly afflitiated with the State Dept or the federal gov't. Neither the Sec of State nor the President will ever get involved without consultation with the other four members of the Six Party talks or until there is a definite indication that talks will be fruitful.
To think that former Pres Clinton or Gov Richardson is doing anything without the knowledge of the Sec. of State and the Pres. is just palin ignorant.
'
Does Bill Richardson ever go away???? Please do, you are an idiot. Hillary, quit and run for your senate seat and be done with this Obama sham.
I am a democrat and I like Richardson. But North Korea's strategy has always been to try to deal with the US one on one and wear us down until we give them a deal that lets them obtain some real leverage.
We have six country negotiations for a reason and Bill's comments are to taken in the context really of this is nothing new – North Korea wants some wiggle room – right now they don't have any and they think they might be able to take advantage of Obama since he's still relatively new at the job.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It works, folks.
Now we will start giving aid to N.Korea at American taxpayer expense.
GIVE IT ALL AWAY LIBERALS!!!
if hilary went it would be direct talks, republicans would have a field day with that and lose there enmey in waiting
It's easy to make friends when you give them everything they want. In a world of quid pro quo, we do a lot of giving.
Richardson looks like he his saluting hitler in the picture. Not too far off eh??
We have let N.Korea save face too many times in the past. Now they must show the world that they have come crawling back to the table and are begging for food and support for a broken government.
They have listened too many times to the piper, now it is time to drop some coins in his hat.
Pay up N.Korea, honor your past agreements and we can go forward with helping your backward country.
How many times do U.S. diplomats have to get their faces slapped before they wise up to North Korea? For thirty years we have been appeasing this third rate dictatorship and where has it gotten us? Exactly nowhere.
Tell that punk weirdo to get lost and lay down the law – any more nuclear offensive programs and he'll disappear from the face of the earth and his military will exit with him. And then back this up!!
Wonder if Bill is the Clinton who ought to be secretary of state. Hillary has completely disappeared.
The hallmark of a great diplomat is the ability to delegate jobs to others without the necessity of getting all the credit. Here's to Hillary and her ability to share the spotlight.
Come people We are stil paying BUSH and look at the job he did on us!!! At least be who ever it maybe ,This Administration is doing something SO stop hating on HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!