Tillerson tells North Korea: 'We are not your enemy'

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has offered an olive branch to North Korea, saying he would welcome dialogue with the isolated regime and declaring 'we are not your enemy'.

Tillerson's remarks stood in stark contrast to that of his boss, US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly launched antagonistic comments towards Pyongyang since he took over the White House in January.

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

"We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek the collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel," Tillerson said on Tuesday.

"We're not your enemy, we're not your threat but you're presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond."

Earlier this week, Trump was critical of China’s role in the ongoing conflict with North Korea, saying it is providing no assistance to the US in order to diffuse the war of words.

"I am very disappointed in China," Trump tweeted at the weekend.. "They do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!"