Cassis To Visit North Korea As Swiss Mission Reopens

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is due to begin a three-day trip to North and South Korea. On Thursday and Friday, he will be in Pyongyang, where he will attend the offiical reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Cassis to visit North Korea as Swiss mission reopens This content was published on October 28, 2026 - 15:24 4 minutes Keystone-SDA

Italiano it Ignazio Cassis in Corea del Nord: prima visita dal 2003 Original Read more: Ignazio Cassis in Corea del Nord: prima visita dal

On Saturday, the foreign minister will continue his trip to South Korea. The last – and indeed the only – member of the Federal Council to visit North Korea was Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in 2003.

The diplomatic office in the North Korean capital resumed operations on October 19, 2026. The permanent diplomatic mission aims to“strengthen direct contacts with the North Korean authorities and promote political dialogue”, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The office reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing, China, which remains responsible for diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea. It was closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After several years of isolation”, North Korea is gradually resuming diplomatic contacts with other countries, Nicolas Bideau, head of communications at the foreign ministry, told the Keystone-ATS news agency. Switzerland is therefore seizing this opportunity to re-establish its diplomatic presence in the country.

Meeting with Kim Jong-un?

To mark the reopening of the office, Cassis will also hold political talks, the ministry has announced. But it is not known whether there will be an official meeting with leader Kim Jong-un.

Instead, the minister from canton Ticino will meet North Korea's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Choe Son-hui, as well as a representative of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the Swiss ministry said. Discussions will also focus on the resumption of bilateral consultations between the Swiss foreign ministry and the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

More More Culture How to cross the border between South and North Korea? Via Switzerland!

This content was published on May 1, 2021 With two remarkable exhibitions, the Swiss capital Bern might be the best place in the world at the moment to visit the two Koreas.

Read more: How to cross the border between South and North Korea? Via Switzer

MENAFN28102026000210011054ID1111880505