Swiss foreign minister to visit North Korea this week, attend official reopening of Pyongyang diplomatic office
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- 2026-10-27 06:05:42
- Updated
- 2026-10-27 06:05:42
[Financial News] Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will visit North Korea this week for political talks with North Korean authorities and to attend the official reopening of Switzerland’s diplomatic office in Pyongyang.
According to foreign media reports on the 26th (local time), Minister Cassis is set to begin his visit on the 29th and meet with North Korean officials at the diplomatic office’s opening ceremony scheduled for the following day.
The two countries’ talks are expected to cover a wide range of issues, including bilateral consultations between the Swiss and North Korean foreign ministries, the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and key geopolitical issues. After completing his visit to North Korea, Minister Cassis will travel directly to Seoul to meet with South Korean government officials as well.
The Pyongyang office reopening this time will come under the direction of the Swiss Embassy in China, which oversees diplomatic and consular affairs for North Korea. Responsibility for diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea will remain with the Swiss Embassy in Beijing. The office, which began operating in practice on the 19th, will allow Switzerland to reestablish a resident diplomatic representation in North Korea.
Switzerland established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1974.
Since 1997, Switzerland had operated a humanitarian cooperation office in Pyongyang through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which is part of the foreign ministry, but the office did not serve as a diplomatic mission. It suspended operations in 2020 after withdrawing its local staff because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent years, Switzerland has actively expanded its diplomatic contacts and engagement with North Korea, while the European Union (EU) has in effect frozen direct dialogue with the country, drawing greater attention to Minister Cassis’s visit.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter