South Korea reached out to rival North Korea on Thursday, nearly three weeks after the death of the North's iron-fisted ruler Kim Jong-il, saying it wanted to reopen dialogue despite the North's vitriolic outbursts, according to Reuters. "We are open to dialogue with North Korea," Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan told a news briefing in the South Korean capital, Seoul. "The ball is now in North Korea's court." He said it appeared North Korea had not yet decided on its "postures in dealing with the outside world". "We are not in a position to tell what is happening in North Korea," he added, saying Kim's youngest son and chosen "great successor", Kim Jong-un, appeared intent, for now, on exerting his influence over the military. The outside world knows little about the North, and both the United States and its ally South Korea appeared to be caught off guard when state media announced Kim Jong-il's death last month. The North has closed its borders since Kim's death, completely cutting it off from the outside world, although South Korean officials say they are unaware of any troubles in the hermit state. "So far, its seems there are no big problems (with the succession process)," South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik told a separate news conference in Seoul. The ministry handles relations with the North.
