North Korea Reports on Swiss Foreign Minister's Visit, Talks with Choe Son-hui on "International Situation"

As the Swiss foreign minister is visiting South Korea after meeting in North Korea with Workers' Party Secretary Jo Yong-won and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, North Korea also reported on October 31 on the consultations held between the two sides in Pyongyang.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today (October 31) that Foreign Minister Choe and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis held talks yesterday (October 30) at an assembly hall in Pyongyang and exchanged "assessments and views on the international situation of mutual concern regarding strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the diplomatic sectors of the two countries."

KCNA reported that the talks were held in a "friendly atmosphere," but did not disclose specific details of the discussion.

In a separate report, the news agency said that Secretary Jo had a conversation in a "friendly atmosphere" at the assembly hall in Pyongyang on the same day with Minister Cassis, who paid a "courtesy call."

Jo is considered one of the closest aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Minister Cassis and his delegation also visited the Tower of the Juche Idea during their stay and departed Pyongyang yesterday (October 30) after concluding their schedule, KCNA reported.

Minister Cassis visited North Korea for two days starting October 29 on the occasion of the reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office in Pyongyang.

North Korean media reported that Sylvain Astier, head of the Swiss diplomatic representation in North Korea, attended the talks, but made no mention of the event marking the opening of the diplomatic office.

Earlier on X, Minister Cassis said he had discussed with Foreign Minister Choe the resumption of the Pyongyang diplomatic office and ways to normalize bilateral political relations and dialogue, while also exchanging views on broad security issues on the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasian region.

Immediately after concluding his visit to North Korea, Minister Cassis arrived in South Korea, where he met successively with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and Jeong Yeon-doo, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diplomatic Strategy and Intelligence Bureau, to brief them on the outcome of his visit to Pyongyang and exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues.

Switzerland previously maintained an office in Pyongyang starting in 1997 through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) under its foreign ministry for humanitarian aid projects in North Korea, but withdrew its personnel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Switzerland resumed operations at the Pyongyang office on October 19, operating it as a diplomatic office that has also been assigned a political role.

(Photo: KCNA, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.