US 'probing' hope of North Korea dialogue

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the US is probing North Korea on the possibility of opening a dialogue.

The United States is probing North Korea to see whether it is interested in dialogue and has multiple direct channels of communication with Pyongyang, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says.

"We are probing, so stay tuned," Tillerson told a small group of reporters during a trip to China on Saturday.

"We ask: Would you like to talk? We have lines of communications to Pyongyang. We're not in a dark situation."