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Obama Sends Personal Letter to Kim Jong-Il

Missive delivered during envoy's visit to Pyongyang

By the Associated Press

Posted Dec 15, 2009 10:49 PM CST
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(AP) – President Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks, a senior State Department official says. The letter was delivered to North Korean officials last week by Obama's special envoy during a visit to Pyongyang aimed at restarting the stalled negotiations, the official tells AP.

The official, speaking under condition of anonymity, would not describe the contents of the letter but said they fit with envoy Stephen Bosworth's general message. "The North Koreans have a choice: continued and further isolation or benefits for returning to the six-party talks and dismantling their nuclear weapons program," the official says. He was not aware whether Kim had responded to Obama's missive.

President Obama's special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, center, gets out of a bus upon arrival at Pyongyang airport last week.
President Obama's special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, center, gets out of a bus upon arrival at Pyongyang airport last week.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Ximeng)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, poses for a photograph with the soldiers of the Korean People's Army 821 unit in this 2006 file photo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, poses for a photograph with the soldiers of the Korean People's Army 821 unit in this 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Korea Central News Agency via Korea News Service, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
mehrheit
Dec 17, 2009 12:33 PM CST
MATT DAMON!
Shannonals
Dec 16, 2009 11:05 AM CST
I'm continually amazed how many people are still whinning and crying about the POTUS winning the Nobel Prize. Get over it.
Mia
Dec 16, 2009 10:01 AM CST
That sounds like a bush/cheny letter

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

Politics • US • World

 
North Korea • Kim Jong Il • nuclear disarmament • six-party agreement • President Obama • Stephen Bosworth • six-party talks

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