North Korea Reports on Swiss Foreign Minister's Visit: "Views Exchanged on International Situation"

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

The Korean Central News Agency reported today that Foreign Minister Choe and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis held talks yesterday at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, exchanging "assessments and opinions on strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the diplomatic sectors of the two countries, as well as on the international situation of mutual concern."

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

In a separate dispatch, the news agency reported that Secretary Jo Yong-won had a "talk in a friendly atmosphere" on the same day at the Mansudae Assembly Hall with Minister Cassis, who paid a "courtesy call."

Jo Yong-won is considered one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's closest aides.

During their visit to North Korea, Foreign Minister Cassis and his delegation also toured the Tower of the Juche Idea and departed Pyongyang on October 30 after completing their schedule, the agency reported.

Minister Cassis visited North Korea for two days starting October 29 on the occasion of the opening of Switzerland's diplomatic office in Pyongyang.

North Korean media outlets reported that Sylvain Astier, head of the Swiss diplomatic mission in North Korea, attended the talks, but did not mention any event marking the opening of the diplomatic office.

Cassis earlier said on X that he had discussed with Foreign Minister Choe ways to reopen the Pyongyang diplomatic office and normalize political relations and dialogue between the two nations, and also exchanged views on wide-ranging security issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasian region.

Immediately after concluding his North Korea visit, Cassis arrived in South Korea and met sequentially with Wi Sung-lac, director of the National Security Office, and Jeong Yeon-doo, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diplomatic Strategy and Information Headquarters, to explain the outcome of his visit to North Korea and exchange views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

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

Switzerland reopened its Pyongyang office on October 19, operating it as a diplomatic mission also tasked with political roles.

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