Switzerland reopens diplomatic office in North Korea after rare visit

Ignazio Cassis became the first Swiss foreign minister to visit North Korea since 2003 when he travelled to Pyongyang on 29 and 30 October, according to Euronews. He then travelled to Seoul. Euronews reported that the trip aimed to restore direct political dialogue with North Korea as tensions rise on the peninsula. [1]

The Swiss diplomatic office in North Korea formally restarted its operations on 19 October, Euronews reported. The office falls under the Swiss embassy in Beijing, China, which continues to handle diplomatic and consular matters. South Korea hopes the reopened office will assist in engaging with Pyongyang, according to Euronews. [1]

Al Jazeera and UA.NEWS also reported on the rare visit and the resumption of operations at the Swiss diplomatic office in North Korea. DPRK is the official name of North Korea, which shares borders with China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south, with Pyongyang serving as its capital city. [9][10][11]

The diplomatic engagement comes as North Korea faces international attention over security and cyber concerns. Separately, France 24 and rte.ie reported that the FBI has accused North Korea of carrying out a major hack stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which has since resumed user withdrawals. [4][5][6]