Switzerland resumes operations at diplomatic office in North Korea — Al Jazeera

Switzerland has officially resumed operations at its diplomatic office in Pyongyang, North Korea, after it was closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During a two-day visit to North Korea, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis held talks on normalizing political relations and resuming political dialogue, Al Jazeera reports.

Talks in Pyongyang

Cassis, who is also Switzerland’s vice president, met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. The sides also exchanged views on security on the Korean Peninsula and broader security challenges in Eurasia.

Cassis’s visit was the first by a Swiss government minister to North Korea in more than two decades. The previous member of Switzerland’s Federal Council to visit North Korea was then-Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in 2003.

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Office without an ambassador

The diplomatic office in Pyongyang, which began operating on October 19, will not have an ambassador. It is subordinate to the Swiss Embassy in Beijing, which handles diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea. Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the office is intended to strengthen direct contacts with North Korean authorities and support political dialogue.

After his trip to Pyongyang, Cassis traveled to South Korea. In Seoul, he plans to discuss security on the peninsula, opportunities to ease regional tensions, and bilateral relations.