Google Schmidt to visit North Korea

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted the Associated Press on January 2 that Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, plans to visit North Korea this month for a private visit.

The Associated Press quoted sources as saying that Schmidt is likely to go this month, he will go with the United States former New Mexico governor Bill Richard Richardson to North Korea.

According to reports, Schmidt’s trip will be headed by Google’s first senior executive based in the US Internet giant Google to North Korea, the country with the most stringent Internet controls.

It is unclear which officials Schmidt and Richardson will meet in North Korea on this trip. The report pointed out that North Korea and the United States have no diplomatic relations. Since the United States bans the import of North Korean goods, North Korea also has almost no commercial dealings with American companies.

On the occasion of the new year, North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un first issued a 2013 New Year message on the 1st, which aroused concern of all parties. South Korean media believes that Kim Jong-un's New Year congratulatory message shows that his attitude toward South Korea and the outside world is moderate, and that internal affairs emphasize economic construction and improving people’s livelihood.