Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google executive Eric Schmidt arrive in Beijing after their controversial trip to North Korea.<br/> <br />Richardson had said the purpose of the trip was to secure the release of American-Korean Kenneth Bae, who's being held for unspecified crimes by the North Korean government.<br/> <br />But they failed to secure his release, and didn't get a chance to meet with him.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We expressed concern to the North Korean officials about the American detainee. We were informed that his health is good, that the judicial proceedings would start soon. That is encouraging. I was also given permission to proceed with a letter from his son, and that will happen shortly."<br/> <br />Instead, Richardson and Schmidt toured two computer centers.<br/> <br />The internet in North Korea is more of an intranet that blocks access to the outside world and can only be used by those loyal to the government.<br/> <br />Punishement for anti-regime comments could be up to five years in a hard labour camp.<br/> <br />Schmidt said the country needs to allow more access to the world wide web.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) GOOGLE EXECUTIVE ERIC SCHMIDT, SAYING:<br/> <br />"... in my view, it's time for them to start, or they will remain behind. Thank you. "<br/> <br />Noth Korea has just over 1,000 IP addresses compared with the more than 1.5 billion in the U.S.
