Swiss Foreign Minister Cassis to Hold Talks in North Korea, Reopen Pyongyang Office on October 30
Switzerland's government announced on October 26 that Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will travel to North Korea starting Thursday, October 29, for political talks and for the formal reopening of Switzerland's diplomatic office in Pyongyang on October 30. According to Reuters, Cassis will meet North Korean authorities during the visit, with talks to include the resumption of bilateral consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries, security on the Korean peninsula and geopolitical issues. He will afterwards travel to Seoul for talks with South Korean officials.
The Pyongyang office has been operational since October 19, and its formal opening restores Switzerland's permanent diplomatic representation in North Korea. The office reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which retains responsibility for diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea.
While Switzerland has actively re-engaged with Pyongyang in recent years, the European Union has essentially frozen out direct dialogue with North Korea, Reuters reported. The outcomes of Cassis's talks are expected to be announced around the office opening on October 30.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 瑞士联邦外交部部长 Ignazio Cassis 2026年官方肖像。瑞士联邦总理府（Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei）发布，署名授权，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Official 2026 portrait of Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Released by the Swiss Federal Chancellery, attribution license, via Wikimedia Commons.
