Evangelist Billy Graham said Thursday he brought a message for President Clinton from Kim Il Sung, and said the North Korean leader was anxious to resolve a worsening crisis over the country's nuclear installations.
The world-renowned preacher said the message replied to an oral one he brought from Clinton. He declined to say anything about the content of the messages, or whether Kim's response was written.The exchange came at a time of mounting tension between North Korea and the West over the hard-line Communist state's nuclear program, and Graham apparently attached urgency to Kim's message, saying he had sent it ahead of him with an associate so that Clinton would get it on Friday.
"I believe the North Korean people and their leadership want to move beyond the rhetoric of the Cold War and find a permanent solution to the problems that separate us," Graham told a news conference in Hong Kong, where he arrived Tuesday night from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
He said Kim, 81, appeared "vigorous and in good health, and my strong impression was that he continues to be the dominant figure in North Korean political and social life."
Graham's visit from Jan. 27 to Tuesday, his second to Pyongyang in two years, coincided with renewed tension over the country's nuclear installations.
He said Kim "was very interested" in Clinton's message. He said the Korean leader did not seek to apportion blame for the crisis. "He hopes that that will be resolved. He didn't say how."
North Korea's rejection of full inspections has deepened skepticism about its denials that it is developing a nuclear arsenal.