The meeting is being seen as a significant thaw, as President Lee is denounced as a traitor by the North.

A spokesman for Mr Lee refused to release the wording of the message, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

But he said it explained Mr Kim's thoughts on "progress on inter-Korean cooperation".

He said Mr Lee, in response, detailed his government's "consistent and firm" policy on North Korea, which has been to push for progress on nuclear disarmament.

"Everything went well," Pyongyang's chief envoy Kim Ki-nam said after the meeting, although he too refused to give any details.