World

Switzerland Reopens Diplomatic Office in North Korea as Minister Cassis Visits

By Al Jazeera Staff

Switzerland has officially reopened its diplomatic office in North Korea after it was closed in March 2020. The reopening followed a two‑day visit by Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, the first Swiss government minister to travel to Pyongyang in more than twenty years. On X, Cassis said the trip ended with talks on “regularising political relations and reestablishing a political dialogue.” He met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, a secretary of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, and discussed security on the Korean Peninsula and broader Eurasian security challenges.

Cassis posted that he was “pleased” to mark a “new chapter” in Switzerland’s presence in Pyongyang, calling the office a “concrete step towards strengthening direct dialogue” with North Korea. The office, which became operational on October 19, will not have an ambassador and reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which handles diplomatic and consular relations with the DPRK. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said the office would help strengthen direct contacts with DPRK authorities and support political dialogue.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed Cassis’s arrival on Thursday but did not detail the purpose of the visit. No meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reported. Bern stated it intends to maintain its commitment to the region amid heightened tensions and limited international contact with North Korea, noting that it has been one of the few Western countries to keep a dialogue with Pyongyang. The last Swiss Federal Council member to visit was former Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy‑Rey in 2003.

Cassis crossed into South Korea on Friday for the final leg of his regional trip. According to the Swiss foreign ministry, his talks in Seoul will focus on security on the peninsula, prospects for easing regional tensions and bilateral ties. Switzerland’s involvement on the Korean Peninsula dates back more than 70 years, including its role on the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission. In South Korea, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also spoke of Germany’s reunification during a visit to the inter‑Korean border, saying, “Let us hope that Korea, too, will one day have the chance to regain its national unity.”