▲ Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Chung Yeon-doo, Vice Minister for Strategy and Intelligence
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who arrived in South Korea on October 30 after meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in Pyongyang, met with senior officials from Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief them on the results of his visit to North Korea.
Director of National Security Wi Sung-lac met with Minister Cassis during his visit to South Korea and exchanged views on the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Wi was briefed by Cassis on the results of his recent trip to North Korea and commended Switzerland for maintaining and expanding communication channels with Pyongyang, Cheong Wa Dae reported.
Both sides agreed on the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the necessity of dialogue and diplomatic efforts toward that end, and decided to continue close communication on related issues going forward.
Separately, Cassis held a dinner meeting with Chung Yeon-doo, Vice Minister for Strategy and Intelligence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international affairs, including the Korean Peninsula.
Chung explained the South Korean government's policies and efforts to realize peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
He also stated that the South Korean government is closely following Switzerland's reopening of its diplomatic office in North Korea and expressed hope that this move will positively contribute to expanding communication and engagement with Pyongyang.
Sharing his impressions of his visit to North Korea, Cassis expressed agreement on the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and responded by calling for continued close communication between the two sides.
Cassis visited North Korea to establish Switzerland's diplomatic office in Pyongyang and held bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Choe.
Discussions on bilateral relations between Switzerland and North Korea are believed to have been the primary agenda of the foreign ministers' meeting.
In a post on social media platform X on the same day, Cassis also noted that he and Foreign Minister Choe discussed reopening the diplomatic office and ways to normalize political relations and dialogue between the two nations.
Analysts suggest that while Switzerland is unlikely to immediately serve as a conduit for inter-Korean or North Korea-U.S. dialogue at present, its unique position in relations with North Korea warrants consideration.
Switzerland is a neutral nation, a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) that oversees compliance with the Korean War Armistice Agreement, and the country where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un studied abroad, making it likely that Pyongyang feels a sense of affinity toward it.
Moreover, among liberal democracies, Cassis is the first to travel between North and South Korea since Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in May, and it is also noteworthy that Switzerland was the site of the Geneva Agreed Framework between North Korea and the U.S. during the first North Korean nuclear crisis.
Thus, even if Switzerland cannot be expected to serve as an immediate conduit, South Korean authorities are anticipated to scrutinize the outcomes of Minister Cassis's visit to North Korea, paying close attention to Switzerland's characteristics as a potential intermediary.
In addition, Cassis revealed through his X post that he and Foreign Minister Choe exchanged views on broad security issues on the Korean Peninsula and across the Eurasian region.
This suggests that the two sides may have exchanged views on the possibility of North Korea-U.S. dialogue, inter-Korean relations, and their positions on the war in Ukraine.
Switzerland had previously operated an office in Pyongyang since 1997 through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), an agency under its foreign ministry, for humanitarian projects in North Korea, but withdrew its personnel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Switzerland announced that it would reopen the office this year and operate it as a diplomatic office, and Cassis visited Pyongyang for the opening ceremony.
(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yonhap News)
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