US President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, replacing him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

With Pompeo moving, CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel will take over the running of that department, reports the Independent.

The change comes at a delicate time for US diplomacy, with the president having just accepted an invitation to hold face-to-face talks with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un about the nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang. There are suggestions that Trump wanted to make the change before the North Korea talks, but it is unusual for such a big change to be made at such a key time. 

Tillerson had just returned from a shortened trip to Africa hours before Trump's announcement. The president offered no explanation for the change, but thanked Tillerson for his service. 

Instead, the announcement focused on Pompeo and the history Trump was making by appointing the first female director of the CIA. Both Pompeo and Haspel will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take their new positions.

Trump and Tillerson have numerous reports about the breakdown of their relationship in recent months, which have been denied by both the White House and the State Department. 

Trump had suggested last week that more changes were coming at the White House, after economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned in the wake of disagreements with the president about his policy on trade tariffs.  Trump also lost his Communications Director Hope Hicks late last month after she resigned.

BDST: 1930 HRS, MAR 13, 2018
AP