Jeremy Corbyn calls on Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to 'calm down'

Jeremy Corbyn - Joe Giddens/PA

Jeremy Corbyn has called for direct talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in a bid to settle the ongoing tension between the countries.

The Labour leader said the world “cannot play fast and loose with nuclear weapons” and called on the US and North Korean leader to engage with each other “in the interest of sanity”.

His call comes amid a rhetorical stand-off between the leaders following North Korea's testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

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Earlier this week Trump vowed that Washington would respond to further threats with "fire and fury”, while Pyongyang has accused the president of "driving" the Korean peninsula to the "brink of a nuclear war".

Speaking in Bristol, Corbyn said: "I think it's time that both Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un toned it all down a bit.”

"Maybe even spoke to each other. Maybe even returned to the table."

He added: "I ask them both – calm down. There are phone-calls that could be made, discussions that could be held.

"Surely, in the interest of sanity and safety over the whole world, do it."

Corbyn's plea came before President Trump tweeted that "military solutions are locked and loaded” should the dictator act “unwisely”

The Labour leader, a long term opponent and campaigner against nuclear weapons, also highlighted the threat to civilians that such weapons pose.

"We cannot play fast and loose with nuclear weapons and nuclear threats because do you know what - a nuclear explosion doesn't stop at national borders, it doesn't stop at the vicinity where the bomb drops," he added.

And he added that "of course" the UK should play a role in mediating the impasse between the countries.

"All the five declared nuclear weapons states need to get on board with this - to bring North Korea back from the brink - bring Donald Trump back from the brink," he said.

UN sanctions against North Korea were established last week in response to the country’s most recent missile test on July 28, which the country's leaders described as a “violent infringement of its sovereignty”.