Obama Sends Personal Letter to Kim Jong-Il

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.