"But YOU SEE..." (Screencap)

Sometime soon, Google chairman and unfiltered man-about-town Eric Schmidt is due to set out for North Korea in the company of former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.

However, it seems the U.S. State Department is not particularly keen on this trip. In fact, it sounds like America's highest-ranking diplomats are downright pissed that Messrs. Schmidt and Richardson have seen fit to embark on their own private mission to Pyongyang.

Via Reuters comes this glaringly aggravated tidbit from a State Department spokesperson:

"Frankly, we don't think the timing of this is particularly helpful," Nuland told reporters, citing North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket in December. "They are well aware of our views."

That "well aware" is practically vibrating with thinly disguised anger. Ms. Nuland went on to distance her agency from the trip in the strongest language possible:

"They are private citizens. They are traveling in an unofficial capacity," she said. "They are not going to be accompanied by any U.S. officials. They are not carrying any messages from us. They are private citizens and they are making their own decisions."

ERIC SCHMIDT DOES WHAT HE WANTS, WHEN HE WANTS, OKAY?