British daily The Times says the visit of North Korean delegates to Seoul to attend former President Kim Dae-jung’s funeral after months of aggressive gestures may have underlying motives.

In an article in its Monday edition, the paper said the most obvious possibility is an overall lack of money. It said “North Korea is chronically broke, and needs the goodwill of South Korea to resume the financial and rice aid that was generously provided before the current South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office.”

The Times said the second possibility is a change in the internal dynamics of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s regime. The paper suggested Kim sought recent provocations, such as a nuclear test and missile launches, as a way of catering to militarist hard-liners. It said he did so in order to ease his plans for the succession of his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, and so he can give more opportunity to his civilian diplomats.

It said thirdly that perhaps North Korea’s strategy is “one of unpredictability for its own sake --- keeping the antagonist on the defensive with dizzying shifts of tone.”