U.S. confirms envoy took Obama letter to the North
Published: 17 Dec. 2009, 20:06
The U.S. government confirmed yesterday that its special envoy to North Korea delivered a letter from President Barack Obama intended for Kim Jong-il during the envoy’s visit to Pyongyang last week, ending days of speculation about the existence of such a dispatch.
The Washington Post and the AP had reported earlier this week that an Obama letter had been delivered by Stephen Bosworth.
“I can only confirm there was such a letter, but I cannot discuss the content or the tone,” said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. “However, I think one can feel very confident it concerned what our very simple agenda was for the visit of Ambassador Bosworth and that was to get North Korea to come back to the six-party talks.”
Bosworth was in Pyongyang from Dec. 8 to 10, trying to bring the North back to the negotiation table. Speaking to journalists in Seoul on Dec. 10, Bosworth evaded the question about any Obama dispatch, saying, “I am the message.” He repeated the same words in Washington yesterday.
As for media reports on the issue, Bosworth said, “What others have said is up to others. I can confirm that I did not bring back a letter.”
“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 and ways in which we could improve both our bilateral relationship and improve North Korea’s overall relationships within Northeast Asia, always provided that they are prepared to move toward the goal of denuclearization,” Bosworth added.
Neither Kelly nor Bosworth divulged the contents of the Obama letter. Kelly denied there is any “secret” message.
“I would use the word ‘confidential,’” he said. “Sometimes, diplomacy is best conducted in a private, confidential way.”
Following his meetings with North Korean counterparts, Bosworth said they were “useful” occasions and that the two sides agreed upon the need for the resumption of the six-party talks and the full implementation of the Sept. 19, 2005 joint statement, which details the North’s commitment to denuclearization in exchange for economic and energy aid.
North Korea had demanded that a peace treaty be reached between the North and the United States to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953. Bosworth said he insisted that there would be no negotiation on a peace treaty until the six-party talks reconvene.
“As I explained to the North Koreans, there is ample opportunity for continued bilateral engagement and dialogue under the framework of the six-party process,” he said. “When we do come back to the six-party talks, one of the first challenges is going to be to agree on an overall sequencing of the denuclearization, the move toward a new peace regime, a peace treaty, the provision of energy and economic assistance, normalization of relations, the establishment of some sort of a structure for Northeast Asian security.”
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
The Washington Post and the AP had reported earlier this week that an Obama letter had been delivered by Stephen Bosworth.
“I can only confirm there was such a letter, but I cannot discuss the content or the tone,” said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. “However, I think one can feel very confident it concerned what our very simple agenda was for the visit of Ambassador Bosworth and that was to get North Korea to come back to the six-party talks.”
Bosworth was in Pyongyang from Dec. 8 to 10, trying to bring the North back to the negotiation table. Speaking to journalists in Seoul on Dec. 10, Bosworth evaded the question about any Obama dispatch, saying, “I am the message.” He repeated the same words in Washington yesterday.
As for media reports on the issue, Bosworth said, “What others have said is up to others. I can confirm that I did not bring back a letter.”
“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 and ways in which we could improve both our bilateral relationship and improve North Korea’s overall relationships within Northeast Asia, always provided that they are prepared to move toward the goal of denuclearization,” Bosworth added.
Neither Kelly nor Bosworth divulged the contents of the Obama letter. Kelly denied there is any “secret” message.
“I would use the word ‘confidential,’” he said. “Sometimes, diplomacy is best conducted in a private, confidential way.”
Following his meetings with North Korean counterparts, Bosworth said they were “useful” occasions and that the two sides agreed upon the need for the resumption of the six-party talks and the full implementation of the Sept. 19, 2005 joint statement, which details the North’s commitment to denuclearization in exchange for economic and energy aid.
North Korea had demanded that a peace treaty be reached between the North and the United States to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953. Bosworth said he insisted that there would be no negotiation on a peace treaty until the six-party talks reconvene.
“As I explained to the North Koreans, there is ample opportunity for continued bilateral engagement and dialogue under the framework of the six-party process,” he said. “When we do come back to the six-party talks, one of the first challenges is going to be to agree on an overall sequencing of the denuclearization, the move toward a new peace regime, a peace treaty, the provision of energy and economic assistance, normalization of relations, the establishment of some sort of a structure for Northeast Asian security.”
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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