Tillerson calms North Korea panic, says there is no 'imminent threat'

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has swiftly moved to declare there is 'no imminent threat of war' with North Korea after President Donald Trump promised to meet Pyongyang with 'fire and fury' on Tuesday.

Tensions between the two states reached a new high this week when Trump promised action against Kim Jong-un’s regime, with Pyongyang threatening a strike against the US territory of Guam in response.

The former oil executive was quick to pull back on Trump’s rhetoric on Wednesday, despite defending the President’s words.

Tillerson told reporters on his return from an Asian tour that Americans could 'sleep well at night'.

"Nothing that I have seen and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours," he said.

"What the president is doing is sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong-un can understand, because he doesn’t seem to understand diplomatic language," Tillerson added.

Tensions between the two nations has increased as the state led by Kim Jong-un ratchets up his weapons programme, with some reports suggesting Trump is considering military action if it continues to present a threat.