SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong-il's birthday on Tuesday with synchronized swimmers glorifying the “kind-hearted father” of the reclusive state while it made overtures for dialogue with its foe the United States.

Kim, in questionable health as he turned 68 and trying to pave the way for succession in Asia's only communist dynasty, was facing one of the most difficult periods of his rule due to economic measures that sparked a rare public backlash.
He has come under pressure to return to disarmament-for-aid nuclear talks due to U.N. sanctions imposed after a May 2009 nuclear test and a botched currency move that nearly halted commerce late last year and worsened the state's economic woes.
At home, Kim was hailed as “the peerlessly brilliant commander of the present era,” the North's nominal head of state said in a national celebration of his birthday.