Tillerson won't say if he called Trump a 'moron'

Per Corker's fears, the president has also appeared to contradict his Secretary of State on social media, tweeting that Tillerson shouldn't bother negotiating with North Korea.

"I am fully committed to his objectives". "I agree with his objectives, I agree with what he is trying to do".

Republican Bob Corker, who previously called Trump's volatile White House an "adult day care centre" and warned the president could start World War Three, said Trump's tweets dismissing Tillerson's negotiation efforts were narrowing America's options on dealing with countries like Iran and North Korea. Earlier this month, Trump undercut Tillerson in a Twitter message, saying the secretary of state was wasting his time trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Corker went so far as to say that Trump had "castrated" his secretary of state, in an interview with the Washington Post.

"I checked, I'm fully intact", Tillerson replied.

Pressed repeatedly on the subject by Tapper on Sunday, Tillerson refused to budge.

"You can not publicly castrate your own secretary of state", Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Washington Post.

Tension between the two countries has grown exponentially due to the nuclear tests that North Korea has carried out in recent months, and which have been interpreted as a clear threat not only to the USA but also to its main allies in the area, South Korea and Japan.

Signs of tensions between Trump and Tillerson have raised questions among in foreign capitals about whether the secretary of state speaks for the administration.

Tillerson has batted away rumors that he might resign. Trump said on Twitter. "And so everything that I have witnessed, all was fine", she said.

Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, has denied Tillerson ever called the President a "moron".

News reported that Tillerson made the comment over the summer and Tillerson has not denied it but rather said the whole discussion around the report is "petty".

"I will work as hard as I can to implement his decisions successfully".