Swiss Foreign Minister to Visit North Korea on Oct. 29, Attend Opening of Diplomatic Office in Pyongyang
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will visit North Korea. He is scheduled to attend the official opening of the Swiss diplomatic office in Pyongyang and discuss security issues on the Korean Peninsula with North Korean officials.
According to Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on October 26 local time, Cassis will visit North Korea for two days starting October 29 and attend the opening of the diplomatic office in Pyongyang. He will then travel to South Korea and plans to hold talks with government officials through October 31.
On October 30, Cassis is scheduled to meet with North Korean officials to discuss resuming consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries, the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, and international affairs. Switzerland's foreign ministry said the visit is part of the country's longstanding efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Switzerland's foreign ministry previously told Voice of America (VOA) on October 22 that the diplomatic office in Pyongyang began operating on October 19. The office will restore a channel for on-the-ground communication with North Korea, which was severed when humanitarian cooperation office operations were suspended in 2020, and strengthen dialogue between the two countries.
This is the first time in 52 years since Switzerland established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1974 that it has set up a diplomatic outpost in Pyongyang. The diplomatic office in Pyongyang operates under the jurisdiction of the Swiss Embassy in Beijing. As before, the embassy in Beijing will also handle diplomatic and consular affairs related to North Korea.
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Since 1997, Switzerland has operated a humanitarian cooperation office in Pyongyang through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The office was not a diplomatic mission, however, and its operations were suspended in 2020 when local staff were withdrawn amid the spread of COVID-19.
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