Obama sends letter to North Korea's Kim, no moves on talks

Reuters
12/16/2009 EST

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, but Washington's envoy offered no sign of progress in persuading Pyongyang to return to nuclear disarmament talks.

The letter was delivered by U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth during his three-day trip to North Korea last week. A U.S. official confirmed the letter was sent but would not discuss its contents.

Asked about the letter, Bosworth declined to comment, saying only that "I was the message" and that he had carried no letter back from Pyongyang and had not discussed the idea of him meeting with the North Koreans a second time.

"I was conveying very directly to the North Korean leadership a vision for the future which would be a lot different than the present or the past," he told a news conference in Washington.

On offer for North Korea was improved relations with the United States and the North's Asian neighbors if Pyongyang follows through on denuclearization pledges made in earlier rounds of six-party nuclear negotiations.

North Korea hinted on Friday following the talks with Bosworth that it could end its year-long boycott of the six-party nuclear negotiations with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

Bosworth told reporters, however, that while North Korea said it recognized the importance of the six-party process, Pyongyang had made no commitment to return to talks and further consultations among the parties would be needed.

It was unclear whether the North had made a decision to shed its nuclear weapons programs, Bosworth said.

"I am unable to say whether they've made that strategic decision or they've not made that strategic decision," he said.

Bosworth's meetings capped months of maneuvering to reduce tensions after North Korea test-fired missiles and set off a nuclear device, triggering U.N. sanctions.

It is relatively rare for a U.S. president to send a personal letter to the North Korean leader, though President George W. Bush sent one to Kim in December 2007. Bush's letter raised the possibility of normalized relations in exchange for North Korea's full disclosure of its nuclear programs.