Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has not ruled out a military conflict with North Korea, warning the United States will not allow the regime to continue posing a threat to global security.

His comments come as US President Donald Trump said he was considering "some pretty severe things" in response to Pyongyang's successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Barnaby Joyce said North Korea is "sort of testing the United States' resolve". ( ABC News: Marco Catalano )

Mr Joyce said the prospect of conflict was not rhetoric, but a serious option being considered by the US Government.

"That option is not ruled out because you can't have a threat like that," he told the ABC.

"This is very dangerous because North Korea is sort of testing the United States' resolve, that's a very foolish thing to do.

"The United States is not going to allow the capacity for a despotic dictator from North Korea to fulfil his rhetoric and develop a nuclear warhead that could hit the US or its allies — for which, we are one."

Global leaders are expected to discuss a coordinated response to the North Korean regime at the G20 summit in Hamburg, with Mr Trump pressuring China to do more to control its neighbour.

Mr Trump has not outlined what its "severe" response to the missile test could be, but has described North Korea as a "threat" this his Government would "confront very strongly".

Australia must be clear eyed: Wong

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 10 minutes 33 seconds 10 m Shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong talks about the threat of North Korea and US-China relationship.

Labor's shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said Australia must be "clear eyed" about the possibility of military conflict with North Korea.

She has urged the global community to seek a peaceful resolution and has also cautioned against Australia placing trade sanctions on China, in a bid to encourage it to place more pressure on North Korea.

"I do think we need to be very clear about military action and the consequences and risks associated with that," she said.

"We know where Seoul is and we know how close it is to the border, and Australia's interests and in our security, but they are also with the security of South Koreans and Japan."

She said China has an interest in a stable and peaceful region that allows economic growth, and should be encourage to take bolder action through diplomacy.

China's foreign ministry has called for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, with a spokesman telling a daily news briefing that China fully implements United Nations sanctions on North Korea.

Defence says threat to Australia remains low

On Thursday, the chief of Defence Joint Operations David Johnston sought to reassure Australians that the threat posed by North Korea remains low.

He said the missile launch needed to be fully assessed to determine the appropriate response by the global community.

"I don't think North Korea is likely to fire a missile at Australia, certainly not in the short term," he said.

"The analysis around that missile launch will take the relevant agencies some time to perform, although I wouldn't think that we have an immediate risk."