Western officials rarely visit North Korea. On Thursday Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland’s foreign minister, travelled there to try to revive political dialogue. The minister was scheduled to visit North Korea and South Korea from October 29th to 31st as part of Switzerland’s longstanding efforts to support peace on the Korean peninsula, said a government press release.
His visit followed a public appearance by Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator, who attended the opening of a new bridge to China over the weekend after rumours of his death.
Mr Cassis is due to meet his North Korean counterpart, but not Mr Kim, according to Markus Leitner, a senior official at Switzerland’s foreign ministry who is accompanying him.
It’s a sign that Switzerland wants to promote dialogue and build trust in a heated situation, a situation of geopolitical differences, says Mr Leitner. We want to contribute to preventing misunderstandings or even a greater escalation.
The only previous member of Switzerland’s Federal Council to visit North Korea was Micheline Calmy-Rey, 23 years ago. During that visit she crossed the demarcation line between North and South Korea—the first representative of a foreign government to do so.
Switzerland is also reopening its office in Pyongyang, which closed during the covid-19 pandemic. Previously run by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, it will now focus on diplomacy rather than humanitarian aid and report to the Swiss embassy in Beijing.
Switzerland has maintained a military observer presence on the Korean peninsula since the 1953 armistice halted the Korean war.
A relationship built on aid
Switzerland established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1974. Ties deepened during the famine of the 1990s, when Switzerland provided humanitarian aid.
Thomas Fisler, who headed the Swiss development agency’s office in North Korea from 2013 to 2017, told SRF that this work helped build trust. North Korea respected Switzerland because it saw no hidden agenda behind its assistance, he said. Aid went where it was needed, while political exchanges continued.
Mr Fisler supports efforts to resume political dialogue and restore a Swiss presence in the country. But he expects the office’s work to be limited without humanitarian projects and the funding that supported them. Travel within North Korea will be difficult; aid projects previously gave Swiss staff access to more of the country.
Rebuilding trust will also be difficult. Mr Fisler hopes Switzerland will resume at least some humanitarian assistance. Having travelled widely in North Korea, he says the need remains acute, particularly among children in rural areas.
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