What the Hell Is Eric Schmidt Doing in North Korea?

It's unclear how he got his plane ticket or who let him through customs — cash helps on both counts — but Eric Schmidt arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday morning. He's there with a "Google delegation" that includes Google Ideas Director Jared Cohen and former ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who's visited the Hermit Kingdom more than half a dozen times. It is, they say, a "humanitarian mission."

Schmidt's stayed relatively silent about the trip and his motivations (could Google possibly be looking for a foothold in the North before Zuckerberg can get there, or is this a touchdown dance after their FTC victory?) but Richardson opened up to the press recently. "This is not a Google trip, but I'm sure [Schmidt is] interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect," he said. "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." The delegation will also be meeting with a jailed American citizen, who's been there since November after he confessed to a crime. It's unclear what the crime was. Richardson added, "We’re not representing the State Department, so they shouldn’t be that nervous."

They say this isn't a diplomatic trip, but when you take a seasoned diplomat to a country and set up a bunch of meetings with government officials, it sure sounds like there's a diplomatic component to me. The State Department, meanwhile, called Schmidt's trip "ill-advised," while John McCain described the delegation as "useful idiots."

Read the rest over at the new Motherboard.VICE.com.