Switzerland's foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, formally reopened the country's diplomatic office in Pyongyang on 29 October and spent two days in North Korea — the first visit by a member of the Swiss government in more than two decades. The last was by then-foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, in 2003.
The office has been running since 19 October, has no ambassador and reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing, according to the Swiss government statement published on 31 October. With it, Switzerland regains a permanent presence in Pyongyang. The previous mission had closed in March 2020, at the start of the covid-19 pandemic, according to Al Jazeera.
Who Cassis met
In Pyongyang, Cassis met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, a secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. There was no meeting with leader Kim Jong Un. State news agency KCNA confirmed Cassis's arrival but gave no details about the purpose of the visit.
The agenda, according to the Swiss government, covered normalising bilateral relations, resuming direct political dialogue, security on the Korean Peninsula and broader security challenges in Eurasia. Cassis called the office a "concrete step towards strengthening direct dialogue" with North Korea.
Relations since 1974, consultations halted in 2019
Switzerland has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1974, and political consultations between the two countries were regular until 2019. Bern is one of the few Western governments that kept a channel of conversation with Pyongyang through North Korea's recent years of isolation.
Switzerland has also been a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission since 1953. The commission monitors the Korean War ceasefire and is based at Panmunjom, on the military demarcation line. Cassis visited it with Major General Burgener, head of the Swiss delegation to the commission.
The second leg: Seoul
From Pyongyang, Cassis crossed into South Korea, where he stayed from 30 to 31 October. In Seoul he spoke with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and Deputy Foreign Minister Jeong Yeondoo about peninsula security, easing regional tensions and bilateral relations.
The Swiss statement describes the dual visit — both sides of the demarcation line in three days — as a way of keeping dialogue open in a region of differing positions.
With information from Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Al Jazeera.
