Rare Visit of North Korean Foreign Minister to Sweden, U.S. Interests Protector

A week after the unexpected announcement of a meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea, the North Korean Foreign Minister will begin a two-day visit to Sweden on Thursday, March 14. The European country of Sweden acts as the protector of U.S., Canadian, and Australian interests in North Korea. According to a statement from the Swedish Foreign Ministry reported by Reuters, the purpose of the 'rare' visit of the senior North Korean official to Stockholm is to 'assist in the effective implementation of' UN resolutions regarding North Korea. Last week, the South Korean National Security Advisor announced that Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, had invited U.S. President Donald Trump for a face-to-face meeting, and Mr. Trump accepted the invitation. This news was so unexpected that it even surprised some of Donald Trump's Republican Party colleagues. Until now, no leader from the United States has met with the North Korean leader. The U.S. has always conditioned such a high-level meeting on Pyongyang's concessions regarding its missile and nuclear activities. In contrast, Donald Trump has not set any preconditions for his meeting with the North Korean leader, an action that led many analysts to consider the news of this meeting a victory for the isolated country. Following criticisms of the U.S. President's approach to North Korea, Mr. Trump announced on March 10 that North Korea had promised to 'halt missile tests during the meetings.' Relations between Washington and Pyongyang became severely strained last year due to North Korea's missile tests. In this context, Donald Trump has taken a dual approach in his rhetoric about North Korea: on one hand, he has threatened that Pyongyang should expect 'fire and fury' from the U.S., but on the other hand, he has expressed readiness for direct dialogue with the North Korean leader. Since taking office, Mr. Trump has imposed very severe sanctions on North Korea and has even succeeded in pressuring China to exert more pressure on North Korea. Since the announcement of the meeting between the two leaders, likely in May, speculation about the location of their meeting has also been a topic of news and reports. In this regard, Reuters reported on Thursday, mentioning Sweden as a 'possible option' for the location of the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Sweden plays the role of the U.S. interests protector in North Korea. The Swedish Foreign Ministry's statement also noted that among the topics of discussion between Margot Wallström, the Swedish Foreign Minister, and her North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, will be 'the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and Sweden's representation for the U.S.' The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Treasury Secretary defended the President's decision to meet with the North Korean leader, stating that the goal of this meeting and dialogue remains the same: the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which Kim Jong Un has also agreed to negotiate.