North Korea overture seen as tiny step on rocky, unpromising road

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to people attending a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father, Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, April 15, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In floating the possibility of nuclear talks with the United States, North Korea took a first step on a road likely to be long, more arduous and just as prone to failure as past efforts.

Former U.S. officials who have dealt with the North reacted with deep scepticism to Pyongyang's offer, made public by South Korea, to hold talks with the United States on denuclearisation and to halt nuclear and missile tests while negotiating.