Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will conclude his first diplomatic trip to Africa a day early and fly back to Washington on Monday amid new developments in the administration’s approach to North Korea.
Tillerson met with leaders in Chad during the first half of the day on Monday. He was then scheduled to travel to Nigeria, where he would meet with the country’s president, foreign minister and representatives from the U.S. Embassy there.
However, he will cut his time in Nigeria short, according to a Reuters report. Tillerson will spend just a few hours there and then fly back to the U.S. on Monday night.
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“Due to demands in the secretary’s schedule, he is returning to the U.S. one day early after concluding official meetings in Chad and Nigeria,” Under Secretary of State Steven Goldstein said.
Tillerson had to cancel all of his planned events in Kenya on Saturday because he was not feeling well.
He will now return to Washington amid major developments in the Trump administration’s approach to North Korea.
While Tillerson was in Ethiopia late last week, President Trump announced he would be accepting a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
If the meeting occurs, Trump would become the first sitting U.S. president to ever meet with a North Korean leader. But the White House says North Korea has to take “concrete” steps on denuclearization in order to ensure the meeting takes place.