U.S., North Korea caution on hope for nuclear deal

BEIJING (Reuters) - The prospect of initial steps towards ending North Korea's nuclear arms programme brightened a little on Friday as negotiators considered a plan for Pyongyang to suspend operations at a nuclear plant within two months. 

But both North Korea and the United States warned against reading too much into the first day of talks and "counting chickens before they hatch" and Japan said an imminent agreement was unlikely.