"I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House told the Reuters news agency.

Asked whether he would try to talk some sense into the North Korean leader, Mr Trump replied: "Absolutely."

North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Trump's remarks.

Mr Trump, 69, also said he would press China, Pyongyang's only major diplomatic and economic supporter, to help find a solution.

In a separate interview with Fox News presenter Megyn Kelly, Mr Trump also admitted he has "regrets" and could have used "different language in a couple of instances" during his controversial presidential campaign.

The Republican candidate defended his combative style, calling himself a "counter-puncher" and insisting that if he had been less aggressive then he would not have been so successful.

It was the first time that Kelly and Mr Trump had faced each other since a feisty exchange in a television debate back in August 2015, when Kelly challenged Trump about some of the offensive words he had used to describe women he didn't like.

The property tycoon implied she was treating him badly, tweeting later that she was a "bimbo" and a "lightweight", and then in a phone interview infamously commenting that the journalist asked him tough questions because she had "blood coming out of her wherever".

In this latest interview, Kelly asked him about why he had re-tweeted some of the offensive messages his fans had posted about her.

'Excuse me'

A boyish, slightly embarrassed Trump emerged.

"Ooops, excuse me," he said. "Over your life you've been called a lot worse Megyn," he went on.

 

That Mr Trump granted an interview with a woman he has been attacking for nine months marks an interesting departure.

His nomination as the Republican party's standard bearer is almost assured.
But his track record with women has left him vulnerable to attack.

A pro-Hillary Clinton group has just released an ad that shows women lip-synching to Mr Trump’s most controversial comments.

Polls have revealed that a large majority of women view the billionaire unfavourably.

And national newspapers like the New York Times are starting to publish stories and interviews with women who describe their experiences with Mr Trump - not all of them flattering.

The Kelly interview offered a high profile chance to start to repair some of that damage.

And of course, Megyn Kelly had much to gain too - attention for the launch of her prime time show and newly-written book.

But even if relations between the two now appear improved, the last comment of their conversation revealed that Trump doesn’t mind who he offends along the way. All he really cares about is closing the deal.

He said: "If I don’t go all the way and I don’t win I will consider it to be a complete waste of time, energy and money."