US President Trump points to Marine One as he departs for Bedminster, New Jersey, from the White House in Washington.

:: United States President Donald Trump has told his secretary of state not to waste any more efforts with North Korea’s “Little Rocket Man”, in reference to Kim Jong-Un.

In a series of tweets published from his golf course in New Jersey, Trump questioned the need for Rex Tillerson and the State Department’s efforts in reaching out to Pyongyang.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man… Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s comment came the day after Tillerson disclosed that the US was directly communicating with North Korea on its nuclear and missile programs but that Pyongyang had shown no interest in dialogue.

Tillerson said during a trip to China on Saturday that the US had multiple direct channels of communication with Pyongyang, the first such disclosure from the Trump administration, and that it was probing North Korea to see whether it is interested in dialogue.