South Korea said it wanted better relation with the North under its new leader, adding that there would be a “window of opportunity” for dialogue after tensions.

South Korea said it wanted better relation with the North under its new leader, adding that there would be a “window of opportunity” for dialogue after tensions.

"The ball is in North Korea's court now," said Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, recalling that President Lee Myung-Bak had seen a "window of opportunity" for dialogue after almost two years of high tensions.

North Korea last week announced Kim Jong-Un as the “supreme leader” and the "great successor" to his father Kim Jong-Il, who died aged 69 on December 17. The communist country also warned that it had no change in policy.

Pyongyang vowed in a statement never to deal "with the Lee Myung-Bak group of traitors" and threatened unspecified retaliation for “insults by Seoul during mourning for Kim”.

Foreign Minister Kim said the North's statement had contained strong criticism "but I do not think we should respond to every single statement they release".

For his part, the South's Unification Minister Yu Woo-Ik, who handles cross-border ties, said Thursday the North "seems to be focused on solidifying the new leadership under difficult conditions" but added: "We see no major problems in the process".