- Switzerland reopened a diplomatic office in Pyongyang and discussed regularising political relations and reestablishing a political dialogue.
- The office, operational since Oct. 19 and formally opened, reports to Switzerland's embassy in Beijing and will not have an ambassador.
- Cassis met North Korean officials including Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, stressing dialogue remains essential for regional peace and security.
Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Friday discussed normalising political relations with North Korea during a visit to Pyongyang, after formally reopening a diplomatic office in the country.
Cassis met his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui in Pyongyang, he said on X.
“We discussed reopening the Swiss diplomatic office in a new format, regularising political relations and reestablishing a political dialogue,” said Cassis, who is Switzerland’s vice president.
“We also exchanged views on security on the Korean peninsula and broader Eurasian security challenges.”
The diplomatic office, which has been operational since October 19 and was formally opened Thursday, will not have an ambassador.
It reports to Switzerland’s embassy in Beijing, which handles diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea.
Cassis called the office reopening “a new chapter for Switzerland’s presence in Pyongyang” and “a concrete step towards strengthening direct dialogue”, which “remains essential for peace and stability in the region”.
He also said he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s close aide Jo Yong Won, and “discussed developments in the DPRK and the potential for strengthening bilateral relations”.
Switzerland “rigorously applies UN sanctions” on North Korea, the ministry says.
In 1953, at the end of the Korean War, Swiss troops were appointed to monitor the demarcation line between North and South Korea.
Switzerland first established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1974.
It opened a cooperation office in Pyongyang in 1997.
The last visit to North Korea by a Swiss government minister was in 2003.
North Korea maintains an embassy in Bern.
Cassis later landed in Seoul for talks on regional security. His visit ends on Saturday.
Between 1997 and 1999, Switzerland hosted talks between North and South Korea, China and the United States.
It also hosted three other meetings between Washington and Pyongyang on normalising their relations, and the conditions for resuming the six-party talks on denuclearising the Korean peninsula.
