US criticizes Google chairman's N. Korea visit

US: The United States on Thursday criticized a planned visit to North Korea by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, calling it ill-timed in the wake of Pyongyang's widely condemned rocket launch last month.

Schmidt -- whose company has an unofficial motto of "Don't Be Evil" -- is planning to visit the isolated nation with former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a veteran troubleshooter on North Korea. Richardson has been to North Korea a number of times in the past 20 years and has been involved in negotiating the release of US citizens detained in the country.

News of the visit, described as "private' by both Washington and Seoul, comes just weeks after Pyongyang confirmed the arrest of a US citizen of Korean descent and said he would be prosecuted for unspecified crimes.

Pyongyang has in the past agreed to hand over detainees to high-profile delegations led by the likes of former US president Bill Clinton, and some observers suggested it may have requested Schmidt's participation in this case.

AFP