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To boost his national image, Gov. Bill Richardson needs bigger headlines than "Governor of New Mexico travels to New Hampshire."

He got one.

Richardson will meet Friday in Santa Fe with diplomats from North Korea to urge that country to dismantle its nuclear program.

Forget his plan to get health care coverage for all New Mexicans for a moment. Set aside his agenda for the 2007 legislative session, and his latest anti-DWI package.

Two diplomats from the North Korean mission to the United Nations, Minister Kim Myong Gil and First Secretary Song Se Il will drop in on Santa Fe for an afternoon chat.

While Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, hopes to talk the country into taking apart its nuclear weapons, he'll also get the attention the meeting will bring.

"The potential for him is this news gets much more national attention than going to New Hampshire," said University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson.

"The national media are going to focus on it, the television networks, the cable networks, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times will all cover it," she said.

It isn't the first visit to Santa Fe by North Koreans. A delegation met with Richardson there shortly after he took office in 2003. Richardson last October visited Pyongyang, his fifth visit in a country-hopping career.

Richardson said the afternoon meeting isn't on behalf of the Bush administration.

"While I will not be acting as an official representative of the administration, I am pleased to do whatever I can to help increase understanding between our two counties and help move the six-party talks forward," the governor said in a statement.

"I believe we have an opportunity to use diplomacy to end this crisis and bring stability to the Korean Peninsula."

The talks - between the United States, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Russia - are set to begin again Dec. 18.

North Korea in October announced it had conducted a successful nuclear test.

At the meeting, Richardson might not change the direction of the years-long talks. But he will show off his prowess for talking to the world, said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato.

"He can use it to say, if you elect me, you won't be getting a hole in the most critical part of the presidency. He can say I'm a president you don't have to train," Sabato said.

As for that headline about Richardson traveling to New Hampshire, that's true, too.

He's leaving Saturday to visit four cities in that key primary election state; Manchester, Hillsborough, Gilsum and Hooksett.

During the trip, Richardson - widely expected to run for president in 2008 and, until recently, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association - will speak to the New Hampshire Democratic Party at the St. Anselm College and meet with Gov. John Lynch and state lawmakers.

Amanda Cooper, manager of Richardson's recent re-election campaign, said his support for candidates across the country helped the Democrats win a majority of governor's seats for the first time since 1994.

"Gov. Richardson played a major role in electing Democrats across the country. His friends and colleagues in New Hampshire invited him to join them in celebrating their success," she said.