US President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday he is getting "very, very close" to nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, a decision that could raise questions due to his connections to Russia, and his lack of government and diplomacy experience.

"He is much more than a business executive. I mean he is a world class player. He is in charge of, I guess, the largest company in the world. He is in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of its next nearest competitor," Trump said in an interview with FOX News.

"To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, not for himself," Trump said in response to a question why a business executive makes sense as a chief diplomat.

Fox also quoted Trump as saying he's "getting very, very close" to picking Tillerson for the top job.

Trump has met with Tillerson in New York on Saturday for a second time in less than a week after an earlier meeting on Tuesday. Media reports cited transition team officials as saying that Trump has made up his mind to nominate Tillerson.

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton is expected to be tapped for Tillerson's deputy, NBC TV reported.

The nomination of Tillerson, a 64-year-old native of Texas, could raise questions about his qualifications due in part to his connections to Russia, as well as his lack of experience in government and diplomacy.

Tillerson, who joined Exxon as a production engineer in 1975 and rose to its helm in 2006, has concluded major deals with the Russian state-run corporation Rosneft and developed a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He received Russia's "Order of Friendship" from Putin in 2013.

Tillerson's views on Korea are not known.

But he is said to be supportive of free trade, and once said, "The global free market for energy provides the most effective means of achieving US energy security."

The view could run counter to that of Trump who, during the campaign, blamed free trade deals as a key cause of American economic problems in an attempt to rally support from voters struggling with economic woes, and vowed to pull out of the ambitious 12-nation free trade pact Trans Pacific Partnership.

Tillerson also believes in climate change, something Trump once called a hoax.

Trump has considered a number of people for secretary of state, including former Massachusetts Gov. and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and retired Gen. David Petraeus.

The New York Times reported that two of Trump's key advisers -- his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner -- have told Trump that Tillerson is in a "different league" from his other options. (Yonhap)