SEOUL, South Korea– You have to give the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung credit. Even in death, he seems to be trying to get South and North Korea to become friends.

Honor guard soldiers carry the coffin of Kim Dae-jung for burial during his state funeral on August 23 in Seoul.

For the first time since the current conservative President Lee Myung-Bak took office, the North Koreans sent a high-level delegation to mourn the late Kim.

Before the trip, the North would only contact the late President’s aides. But while in Seoul, the delegation reportedly asked to meet with South Koreans and ultimately the president.

For Seoul’s part, there was a definite chilly reaction to the North’s announcement that it would send a delegation to Seoul.

And the South Korean news agency Yonhap says when the Northern visitors wanted to meet the president there were some in the government that thought it was inappropriate.

But in the end, the delegation got their meeting, and the South Korean spokesman says they conveyed a message from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

The details of that message were not made public. But when asked at the airport how their stay in the South went, the head of the North Korean delegation was quoted as saying, “We are heading back in the positive mood.”

The South Korean spokesman said President Lee conveyed a message of his own to the delegation: that South Korea’s position is still firm and that he hopes for sincere dialogue in the future.

Now, will this be the catalyst for improved relations between the two Koreas? It’s hard to predict. But one thing for sure, if they do, someone up there will be cheering on the sidelines.