`Pres. Obama Sent Personal Letter to NK Leader`

The Washington Post yesterday said U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a personal letter to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il.

U.S. special envoy to North Korea Stephen Bosworth brought the letter to Kim in his visit to Pyongyang last week, the report said.

The State Department and the White House declined to disclose details of the letter, but the Associated Press cited an unnamed department official as saying the content of the letter would fit with Bosworth’s general message.

Bosworth is known to have urged Pyongyang to return to the six-party nuclear talks during his visit.

The Washington Post said, "It is relatively unusual for an American president to send the North Korean dictator a personal communication so early in his term. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush sent letters to Kim but only after extensive diplomatic efforts."

The report also said the Obama administration struggled to keep the letter secret. The White House informed South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, all parties to the nuclear talks, of the letter but urged them to keep quiet about it.

mindy@donga.com