South Korea reached out to rival North Korea 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. “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. Meanwhile, Seoul said Thursday it would set up a fund this year to prepare for eventual reunification with North Korea. The unification ministry, which handles cross-border relations, said one of its policy priorities this year was practical preparations for reunification including the fund. The ministry gave no details of who would pay into the fund, which has been previously mentioned, or its size. Meanwhile, the top US diplomat for East Asian affairs, Kurt Campbell, asked Beijing to consult closely with Washington on developments in the North.
