In spite of the U.S. government’s polite request to cancel his mysterious and unannounced trip to North Korea, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is determined to visit the downtrodden country and has now arrived via commercial Air China flight with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. The reason for the visit wasn’t disclosed, yet sources say that it has something to do with a pending request to release Korean-American tourist Kenneth Bae. The U.S. State Department has labeled the visit unofficial.
Speaking prior to their flight in Beijing, Richardson says, “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.” Richardson also hinted the nature of their trip saying, “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.” Schmidt and Richardson arrived in Pyongyang today after the short flight from Beijing.
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