Jimmy Kimmel has mocked Donald Trump for appearing not to know who the North Korean Leader is.

Despite mounting tensions between North Korea and the US, President Trump appears not to know the difference between the current leader Kim Jong-un and his father Kim Jong-il. The current 33-year-old leader was declared supreme leader after his father’s state funeral in December of 2011.

The talk show host took aim at Mr Trump for his apparent ignorance during his late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night.

“As you know, our relationship with North Korea is especially tense right now,” he told viewers.

“And one way or another, Donald Trump is going to do something about that ... Just as soon as he figures out that Kim Jong-un and his father, Kim Jong-il, are two different people.”

Kimmel then broadcast a clip of Mr Trump being asked about North Korea earlier in the day. During the interview, Mr Trump only referred to the current North Korean leader as “the gentleman” and appeared to imply that both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama were dealing with the same leader in their respective tenures.

“I hope things work out well. I hope there’s going to be peace, but they’ve been talking with this gentleman for a long time. You read Clinton’s book and he said, ‘Oh, we made such a great peace deal,’ and it was a joke,” Mr Trump said on Fox and Friends.

In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Show all 16 1 /16 In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean women soldiers take part in a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AFP/Getty Images In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A huge military parade in Pyongyang marks the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves during a military parade on 15 April 2017 AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean soldiers carry flags and a photo of Kim Il-sung during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Soldiers march across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun What military experts say appears to be a North Korean KN-08 inter-continental ballistic missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Women wearing traditional Korean dress wave flowers and shout slogans as they pass Kim Jong-Un during a parade in Pyongyang on 15 April AFP/Getty Images In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean female soldiers march during a parade for the 'Day of the Sun' festival on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on 15 April EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Military vehicles carry missiles with characters reading 'Pukkuksong' during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on 15 April 2017 EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Attendees carry sheets in the colours of North Korea's national flag during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A soldier salutes from atop an armoured vehicle during a military parade in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun A North Korean woman cries as she looks towards Kim Jong-un during a parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun University students carry the national flag and two bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il during a military parade on 15 April AP In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Missiles are driven past Kim Jong-un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the Day of the Sun in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves from a balcony during a parade for the 'Day of the Sun' festival in Pyongyang on 15 April 2017 EPA In pictures: North Korea marks the Day of the Sun Missiles are driven past Kim Jong-un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the Day of the Sun in Pyongyang on 15 April Reuters

“You look at different things over the years with President Obama. Everybody has been outplayed. They’ve all been outplayed by this gentleman.”

Kimmel then chipped in: “Does he really not know that when Bill Clinton was president, Kim Jong-un was 16 years old?”

After showing a photo of Kim Jong-un as a young teenage boy, Kimmel said: “This is crazy. There’s a 50/50 chance we might accidentally bomb South Korea if we’re not careful.”

“So as a service to our president, I thought we’d make it very clear, this is Kim Jong-il, he is very dead,” he continued before cutting to a faded photo of the deceased leader as a young man.

He then proceeded to show photos of the “still alive” Kim Jong-un and the rapper Lil’ Kim even though she “has nothing to do with anything - leave her alone.”

“Unless the president - maybe the president knows something we don’t,” the host added. “Maybe Kim Jong-il isn’t dead. Maybe he figured out some kind of youth serum like Benjamin Butt-un.”

Friction between the US and North Korea has escalated in recent days. North Korea revealed new missiles during a large military parade in Pyongyang over the weekend to celebrate the 105th anniversary of founding leader Kim Il-sung.

The massive parade was followed by a test of their so-called intercontinental missile, which failed just five seconds after launch, observers in the US and South Korea said. As a precaution, US battleships were moved into the waters near the Korean peninsula.

Mr Trump, who has in the past tweeted saying North Korea was "behaving very badly" and "playing" with the US, warned that North Korea has “gotta behave” while speaking at the annual White House Easter egg roll over the weekend.

The President’s stern warning came just hours after Vice President Mike Pence said “the era of strategic patience is over” while making an unscheduled stop during his Asia tour to visit the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.