Rubio calls off his Japan and South Korea visit, Nikkei reports

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called off his first visit to Japan and South Korea to focus on the Middle East, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

Rubio was expected to land in Tokyo on Monday, but he has informed the Japanese and South Korean governments that his schedule will be postponed, the report said.

Rubio had planned to visit Japan for the first time in early July, followed by South Korea, before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meetings in Malaysia, Kyodo reported last week, quoting a Japanese government official.

Instead, Rubio is set to attend a meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Nikkei added.

Earlier in the day, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said that Rubio’s visit to South Korea appears to be “difficult” to arrange in the near future.