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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has disclosed that the United States is ready to talk with North Korea to bring an end to the nuclear threats and potential crisis.

The secretary of state who has been accused of wasting his time in trying to negotiate with North Korea by U.S. President Donald Trump has also indicated that the U.S. is willing to start discussions with the North without a precondition.

Tillerson, speaking on Tuesday at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, stated the US "cannot accept" a nuclear-armed North Korea but called on the two countries to begin a dialogue.

"We're ready to talk anytime North Korea would like to talk, and we're ready to have the first meeting without precondition," he said.

"It's not realistic to say we're only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your [nuclear weapons] programme." 

Tillerson added that North Korea has "too much invested" in their nuclear weapons programme and said US President Donald Trump is "realistic about that". 

Following the secretary of state's speech, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders reiterated that Trump's views on North Korea remain unchanged.

"North Korea is acting in an unsafe way ... North Korea's actions are not good for anyone and certainly not good for North Korea," she added in a statement to reporters.

Rex Tillerson also provided more hints regarding the North Korea situation.

He said the US president "would like to see" China stop supplying oil to North Korea in order to drive the government in Pyongyang towards diplomatic talks.

"The last time the North Koreans came to the table, it was because China cut the oil off," he said.

"Three days later, the North Koreans were at the table talking. And the president feels we're really at that stage. So he's putting a lot of pressure on the Chinese to do more with respect to oil."