US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denies calling President Donald Trump a 'moron'

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has denied claims he considered resigning amid reports he called President Donald Trump a “moron”. 

Mr Tillerson delivered a statement Wednesday denying that he ever considered abandoning his job as Mr Trump's top diplomat. He also disputed what he called "erroneous" reports that he was on the verge of resigning this summer amid mounting policy disputes with the White House.

“The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving this post,” Mr Tillerson said.

“I am here for as long as the president feels I can be useful to achieving his objectives.”

Mr Tillerson however didn't directly deny an NBC story that he had called the president a "moron" after a contentious July 20 meeting at the Pentagon.

“We don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense,” he said during a statement today, instead levelling blame at those parties who “try to sow dissension to advance their own agenda”.

NBC News reported earlier in the day that the former Exxon Mobil CEO had threatened to quit after the president delivered a highly politicised speech to the Boy Scouts of America. Mr Tillerson was president of the organization from 2010 to 2012, according to his State Department biography.

The White House meanwhile has confirmed President Donald Trump remains confident in Mr Tillerson.

White House Press Secretary Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that: "If the president doesn't have confidence in somebody they will no longer remain in their position".

Mr Trump tweeted the story was "#FakeNews" and called on NBC to "issue an apology to AMERICA!"

The US president appeared to undercut the efforts of Mr Tillerson on Sunday after he claimed the secretary of state was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Mr Trump tweeted.

His tweets raised speculation about whether Mr Trump could be undermining efforts to maintain channels of communication or somehow bolstering the diplomat's hand in possible future talks.