Good Intentions in Pyongyang: Switzerland's Naive Return to North Korea

When missile engines roar over the Korean Peninsula, Swiss diplomacy prefers the calm acoustic environment of a meeting room. Ignazio Cassis has taken Bern’s signature optimism straight to Pyongyang, becoming the first Swiss foreign minister to set foot in North Korea since 2003. The formal motivation behind the late October trip was the reopening of Switzerland’s diplomatic office in the North Korean capital, an outpost operating under the wing of the Swiss embassy in Beijing.

The office had previously focused on humanitarian cooperation before shutting its doors during the pandemic in 2020. Now, Bern wants to restore direct political dialogue with a regime that cut off regular consultations in 2019, despite maintaining formal diplomatic ties since 1974. Cassis met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, a key secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party. Their conversations touched on regional stability, European and Asian security challenges, and the prospect of fresh political dialogue. Cassis indicated that his offer to facilitate talks between the warring sides was apparently well received, while North Korean state media casually reported discussions held in a friendly atmosphere.

Whether Pyongyang shares Bern’s enthusiasm for constructive dialogue remains questionable. Just as diplomatic pleasantries were being exchanged, North Korea launched approximately ten short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, ignoring Seoul’s call for military talks aimed at preventing border friction. Yet in Seoul, where Cassis briefed senior officials including National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and foreign ministry official Jeong Yeon-du, the Swiss arrival was met with hopeful anticipation. South Korea appears eager to use any channel available to reach its northern neighbor, even one mediated by a small European state whose foreign ministry declined to elaborate when asked if its presence might serve broader European diplomatic interests.

Switzerland has maintained a presence on the peninsula since 1953, monitoring the armistice through the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission at Panmunjom. Cassis took time to meet with the head of the Swiss delegation during his travels. But as South Korea’s foreign minister appealed for dialogue support at a G20 gathering in Atlanta, Bern’s return to Pyongyang highlights the classic Swiss belief that hosting a desk in an isolated dictatorship can somehow cool down geopolitical flashpoints.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com