CHICAGO (CBS) — Senior Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is hoping the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is an opportunity for a new relationship with that nation.

As WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports, Durbin agrees with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) that if North Korea sends an invitation, a delegation from the United States should attend Kim Jong Il’s funeral.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports

Durbin says it would be in the hope that the next North Korean leader, the dictator’s heir Kim Jong Un, would choose a different path.

“I believe that isolating them and not entering into dialogue is not helpful,” he said.

But Durbin does have concerns.

“The biggest concern is this successor – the Great Successor, they call him –is what, 24 years old? And (he) is the youngest four-star general in the history of the world, and is now being asked to rule a nation,” he said.

Durbin worries Kim Jong Un will be controlled by the same people who have helped guide North Korea for decades.