U . S . boy : N . Korea welcomed ' peace forest ' idea / **/ jQuery . async ( 0 , 0 , " http : / / blstj . msn . com / br / csl / js / C 5 BF 95364 D 5 B 72 AAE 6 DC 37540000 CE 01 / fbutility . js ");///**/ jQuery . async ( " Msn . Facebook ", function ( ) { Msn . Facebook . initiateFacebookLike ( ' 129349433651 '); Msn . Facebook . TrackingData = { fbAppId : " 129349433651 ", actionName : " recommend ", omniAccountName : "", samplingRate : " 100 ", pageType : " article "}; Msn . Facebook . trackingFacebookLike ( ' 0006 BFFDAA 0 AE 744 ');});// AP Photo / Andy WongAPBEIJING - A 13 - year - old American boy who made a rare visit to Pyongyang says officials there welcomed his idea for a " children ' s peace forest " in the demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea , although they said it would only happen if the countries signed a peace treaty first . Jonathan Lee returned Thursday from an eight - day visit to the reclusive country during which he was taken on a tour of the DMZ . A hoped - for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il did not materialize , although Lee said the officials forwarded to Kim a letter from him . on this trip , I discovered that both sides want reunification and that Korea is one , so I see hope on the Korean peninsula , " Lee , who made the visit with his parents , Kyoung and Melissa Lee , told The Associated Press . Impoverished North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world and its hard - line communist regime is under United Nations sanctions for launching missiles and refusing to comply with nuclear weapons inspections . Since the 1950 - 53 Korean War ended with a cease - fire and not an armistice , the United States , South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war . Pushing for peace Lee , of Ridgeland , Mississippi , said the officials told him his proposed children ' s forest was dependent on North Korea first signing a peace treaty with the United States to formally end the war — a longstanding demand of Pyongyang ' s . The 2 1 / 2 mile - wide DMZ is the most heavily guarded border in the world , sealed off with electric fences and studded with land mines , watchtowers and military bases . Despite the political hurdles , Lee said he ' ll continue pushing the idea for a peace forest to allow interaction between children from the two sides and hopes to visit the North again next year . Extremely rare private visit The lack of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington makes private visits to the North by Americans extremely rare . In recent months North Korea has detained four Americans for illegal entry , and one is still in prison there . Melissa Lee said concerns about the family ' s safety in the north had proved unfounded . " We were taken care of . At no point did I feel unsafe , " she said . Although initially taken aback by her son ' s desire to visit the North , she said the trip proved to be a moving experience . " For him to want to do this on his own , I ' m fairly proud of him . He may not have met ( Kim ) , but the fact that he did it was something , " she said . The Lee family said they received permission this summer to visit North Korea from the country ' s representative to the United Nations . Visas were granted last week in Beijing . Home video shot by the family during their visit showed Jonathan Lee talking to tourists inside a meeting room at the DMZ , presenting flowers at a children ' s music performance , and visiting a museum , library and Pyongyang ' s famed mass games . In his letter submitted to the North Korean leader , Lee said he wrote that former South Korean President Kim Dae - jung had talked with him about his " sunshine policy " of peaceful coexistence with the North . That policy of rapprochement has been abandoned by the current conservative South Korean government , and relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are at their most tense in years