WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The US State Department confirmed on Friday that Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico will leave for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for nuclear talks next week.

    The DPRK government extended an invitation to Richardson to visit Pyongyang.

    "He is not traveling as an official representative of the United States and he is not carrying a message on behalf of the government of the United States," deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told a news briefing.

    Richardson, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations during the Bill Clinton presidency, said earlier in the day that he won't represent Washington as an official negotiator.

    However, he said his trip is intended "to move the diplomatic process forward" after an agreement last month in which the DPRK said it would give up the nuclear program in return for economic aid and security assurances.

    In return for Pyongyang agreeing to end its nuclear program, the United States and the five other nations involved in the talks agreed to discuss giving the DPRK a light-water reactor "at an appropriate time."

    Richardson has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008, but he said his trip had nothing to do with that. Enditem