Exclusive: Richardson Speaks En Route To North Korea

Gov. Bill Richardson spoke with Action 7 News on Sunday from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska before boarding an Air Force plane to Japan.

He was en route to North Korea for talks regarding nuclear disarmament, and he shared his thoughts about his overall goals for the mission.

"The first day you want to set a good, positive tone," Richardson said. "We arrive in the evening. There will be an evening dinner. We'll get right down to business. But you sort of want to set a positive tone. They're going to be welcoming us at the airport, taking us to where we're staying, which I understand is some nice quarters. And then an opening dinner, which will be business.

"Then what happens? The North Koreans like to work, start negotiating late in the evening. We're going to try to get a good night's sleep on the plane. Early on, you start to develop a good, positive tone. And then as you move into the second and third day, the third day being the last day, you start really pressing for what we need. And what we need here is North Korea to say that they're sticking by their agreement to dismantle their nuclear weapons.

Proud Of New Mexicans On Mission

"So, that's a pretty strong message, and I'm glad to be carrying it. Not officially as a member of the Bush administration or an official envoy, but as a concerned American that has dealt with them before. The Bush administration's been very good that they've provided us a plane and some very good support. So we're delighted to make this mission. We've got a lot of New Mexicans. Energy, expertise in health care and education and legal issues. So, it is a New Mexico group of experts and a New Mexico mission of peace. So, I'm very proud of our state."

On Briefing The Bush Administration On His Progress

"I'll be briefing the administration as soon as we leave North Korea," Richardson said. "You can't brief them from North Korea because either calls are monitored or the communication system's not the best. So, the moment we're back on our Air Force plane which has telephones and fax and Internet capabilities, that's when I'll most likely brief him, the moment we leave. It's very hard to do it in country."

On Action 7 News HealthBeat Reporter Dr. Barry Ramo Joining Them

"(Ramo) will join us in Japan. We'll be in Japan seven hours. So, he'll join us in Japan and then we will get him on our Air Force plane in Japan and into North Korea," Richardson said.

On Team Of Experts From New Mexico Traveling With Him

"My hope is that when there's a normalization of relations with North Korea that New Mexico will play a role," Richardson said. "They asked for these experts in heart disease and heart bypass, that's Dr. Ramo. In energy and transmission, and that's Jeff Sterba, the head of PNM, and then agriculture, and that's New Mexico State and there's no one better in agriculture than the head of New Mexico State. So, these are areas of cooperation where the United States, if North Korea dismantles its nuclear weapons, is prepared to help North Korea. And my view is, 'Why not New Mexico?' So, we could be at the start of something important long-range not just for national security but for our state."