Trump cancels visit to Korean demilitarized zone

US President Donald Trump planned to make a surprise visit to the inter-Korean demilitarized zone but was forced to turn back due to bad weather.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly meets with senior White House officials at a US military base in South Korea to discuss the situation after a visit to the demilitarized zone was canceled. Photo: ABCNews.

Heavy fog blanketed Seoul, disrupting the flight of President Trump's Marine One helicopter. Officials said it flew from Yongsan Air Base toward the border between North and South Korea but was forced to turn back just five minutes from its landing site, according to ABC News.

The Secret Service and the US military decided to cancel the trip to ensure safety, an administration official said.

Mr. Trump was disappointed that he had to return without visiting the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

He was due to travel to the region with South Korean President Moon Jae-in as a symbol of the strong alliance. A joint visit to the DMZ by the US and South Korean presidents would have been a “historic moment” that has never happened before, the White House said. Mr Moon had already landed.

The White House had previously said Mr Trump would not visit the DMZ because of “lack of time in his schedule” and that visiting the area had become “a cliché”. A White House official said they had to choose between visiting the DMZ or visiting Camp Humphreys, a joint US-South Korean military base. Mr Moon had invited Mr Trump to visit the base.

According to VNE