U.S. experts on Korean affairs say that if North Korea shows sincerity on denuclearization and halts further provocations, there is a chance for dialogue.

Chief researcher Alan Romberg at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank said that tensions on the Korean Peninsula will most likely not be resolved completely this year, but that dialogue between the two Koreas could resume if the North does not seek further provocations.

Romberg said that although Pyongyang appears to be seeking to talk with Washington, such a meeting could only be possible within the framework of the six-party nuclear talks.

Regarding President Lee Myung-bak’s New Year’s statement that the door for dialogue with the North is still open, the co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus, John Feffer, said that North Korea also called for dialogue with the South in its New Year’s editorial.