As a congressman in 1994, Richardson visited reclusive communist-ruled North Korea to discuss a nuclear accord struck by Clinton.
As Richardson was traveling to the country, North Korea shot down a U.S. military helicopter that had entered its territory, killing one pilot and capturing the other.
Richardson stayed for weeks to negotiate, flying home with the dead pilot's remains while the surviving pilot was released soon thereafter.
In 1996, Richardson negotiated the release of an American named Evan Hunziker, jailed on spy charges in North Korea.
Richardson later attended a prep school in Massachusetts, where he became a star baseball pitcher with dreams of a professional career.
Persons:
New Mexico Bill Richardson, Gus Ruelas, Bill Richardson, Richardson, Mickey Bergman, Bergman, Bill Clinton, you've, You've, Barack Obama, Obama, Danny Fenster, Clinton, Evan Hunziker, Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, William Blaine Richardson, Will Dunham, Lucia Mutikani, Rosalba O'Brien
Organizations:
University of Southern California's Schwarzenegger Institute for State, Global, REUTERS, Rights, New, Richardson Center, U.S, Richardson, Democratic, U.S . House, Representatives, United Nations, Foreign Policy, Cuban, Citibank, Tufts University, State Department, Thomson
Locations:
New Mexico, Los Angeles , California, U.S, Chatham , Massachusetts, Mexican, American, United States, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Cuba, New Hampshire, Iowa, Korean, Kuwait, Iraqi, Miami, Pasadena , California, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Massachusetts, Washington