Switzerland reopens diplomatic office in North Korea after rare ministerial visit

Switzerland has formally reopened its diplomatic office in North Korea after closing it in 2020, marking a rare diplomatic step in Pyongyang. The move came as Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis completed a two-day visit to the country, during which he held talks on political relations and security on the Korean Peninsula. The office began operating on October 19 and was formally reopened on Thursday.

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Cassis said he discussed "regularising political relations and reestablishing a political dialogue" during the visit. He also said the talks covered security on the Korean Peninsula and broader Eurasian security challenges. According to the Swiss foreign ministry, the office will help strengthen direct contacts with North Korean authorities and support political dialogue.

The office will not have an ambassador and will report through the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which handles diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea. Switzerland said the office had been closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cassis met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, a secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers' Party.

The reopening matters because Switzerland has been one of the few Western countries to maintain a dialogue with Pyongyang despite limited international contact and heightened tensions. Bern said it intends to keep its commitment to the region, suggesting the office is meant to preserve a channel for communication rather than signal a broader shift in relations. The timing also comes as security concerns on the Korean Peninsula remain a central issue in regional diplomacy.

Cassis's trip was the first by a Swiss government minister to North Korea in more than two decades. The last member of Switzerland's Federal Council to visit was then-Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in 2003. North Korea's state news agency confirmed Cassis's arrival on Thursday, but did not give details on the purpose of the visit.

It was not known in advance whether Cassis would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and there has been no report of such a meeting. Cassis crossed into South Korea on Friday for the final leg of his regional trip, where talks were expected to focus on security on the peninsula and prospects for easing regional tensions. What remains unclear is whether the reopening will lead to more regular political engagement or any broader diplomatic progress in the months ahead.

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