Obama sends missive to Kim Jong-il
The US administration, however, does not want to discuss its contents publicly
Washington: US President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong- il, which was delivered by the administration's special envoy for North Korea during a visit last week in Pyongyang.
The existence of the letter has been closely held, with the administration insisting to its partners in disarmament talks with North Korea that it not be publicly discussed. State Department and White House officials this week confirmed that envoy Stephen Bosworth brought a letter from Obama for Kim but declined to describe its contents.
"We do not comment on private diplomatic correspondence," White House national security council spokesman Mike Hammer said.
Bosworth artfully misled reporters in Seoul last week about the letter when he left North Korea. Asked whether he had brought a letter, Bosworth sidestepped the question and said, "As for a message to the North Koreans from President Obama, in effect, I am the message." Reporters in Asia then reported he had denied he had carried a letter.
Unusual
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 eventually sent letters to Kim, but only after extensive diplomatic efforts to restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
In a new development, North Korea plans to temporarily ban foreigners from entering the country, a move that could herald a visit by leader Kim to neighbouring China, AFP quoted South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper as saying.
The South Korean newspaper, citing North Korean sources in China, said the ban would last from December 20 until early February.
