Duterte urges US restraint on N.Korea

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says the United States should show restraint and not play into the hands of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, because he "wants to end the world".

Duterte said he was due to speak to US President Donald Trump later on Saturday, as current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and he would urge him not to be taunted by North Korea, because war would be a catastrophe.

He said the tensions on the Korean Peninsula were like two countries playing with toys.

"I will just communicate to (him), just let him play with his, do not play into his hands," he told a news conference after the ASEAN summit in Manila.

"The guy (Kim) simply wants to end the world, that is why he is very happy. He is always smiling. But he really wants to finish everything."