Swiss foreign minister visits North Korea as diplomatic office reopens in Pyongyang

Switzerland reopened its diplomatic office in North Korea and Ignazio Cassis became the first Swiss foreign minister to visit the country since 2003, the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Cassis was in Pyongyang on October 29 and 30 before traveling to Seoul.

The office restarted operations on October 19. It sits under the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which remains responsible for diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea. Switzerland's previous office in Pyongyang handled humanitarian cooperation and closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1974, but regular political consultations stopped after 2019, the ministry said. Bern said the office would let Switzerland deal directly with North Korean authorities and follow developments in the region.

In Pyongyang, Cassis met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, secretary of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee. His talks with Choe covered restoring political dialogue, security on the Korean Peninsula and security challenges in Europe and Asia. Cassis told Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS that he had offered Switzerland's help in facilitating dialogue, and that the proposal appeared to have been well received. North Korea's state news agency KCNA said the two ministers discussed diplomatic cooperation and international issues in a friendly atmosphere, without giving a detailed account.

Asked by Euronews whether the office could support wider European dialogue with Pyongyang, a Swiss foreign ministry spokesperson said the department had nothing to add to Saturday's statement.

In Seoul on October 30 and 31, Cassis met National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and senior foreign ministry official Jeong Yeon-du, and briefed Jeong on the Pyongyang talks. Seoul's foreign ministry said Jeong expressed hope the Swiss office would help South Korea engage with the North. South Korea's military said North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, a day after Seoul renewed its call for military talks to prevent accidental border clashes.