South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said on Monday that the door for inter-Korea dialogue was still open despite high tensions on the peninsula. In his New Year policy address, Lee also urged the Pyongyang to abandon its military adventurism, pledging that another threat against an inch of its territory would be meet with a strong response. Relations between the two Koreas plunged after the North shelled a border island in November, killing four people, including two civilians. The South has since staged a series of military exercises, including a live-fire drill on December 20 on the island but the North did not follow through with threats of a new and deadlier attack. President Lee's comments on Monday came just days after Pyongyang called for improved relations in 2011.