Trump, Tillerson at odds but both right

Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson are at odds over the merits solving the North Korean threat with diplomacy, but Julie Bishop insists they are both right.

Julie Bishop insists US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's wildly different attitudes towards diplomacy and North Korea are both right.

The foreign minister is in South Korea along with Defence Minister Marise Payne for official talks with their counterparts.

"Whether that is through the rhetoric from the various players or whether it is through the diplomatic and economic pressure that is being deployed - all efforts are being made to ensure we deter North Korea from further illegal acts and compel them back to the negotiating table," she told ABC TV.