Dialogue with North Korea is like a lamp in the wind, the US expects a "new breath of life" from a Nordic "messenger"

Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Source: AP)

Sweden has missions in Seoul, Pyongyang and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas – where Stockholm serves as a member of the commission that monitored the 1953 armistice between North and South Korea.

In 2020, Swedish diplomats were forced to leave North Korea when Pyongyang closed its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the news agency AFP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sweden recently announced that a group of its diplomatic staff returned to North Korea on September 13 and "can now resume regular embassy activities."

Since Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations, Sweden represents US interests in North Korea.

On September 16, US Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Matthew Miller welcomed the move, calling Sweden Washington's "protective force" in Pyongyang.

“We support the return of foreign diplomats to Pyongyang and hope that this development will inject new life into the process of dialogue, diplomacy and other forms of constructive interaction with North Korea,” Mr. Miller said at a press conference.

The Washington-Pyongyang dialogue has long been stalled, as the US has repeatedly protested North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, while regularly conducting military exercises with South Korea despite the reaction of the Northeast Asian country across the DMZ.

Pyongyang has accused Washington and Seoul of conducting joint military exercises to prepare for conflict, warning that North Korea will retaliate. However, both the US and South Korea have denied the accusations, insisting that the exercises are not aimed at anyone.