Some European nations have reportedly been preparing to reopen their embassies in Pyongyang after closing them during the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials from Sweden and Germany having visited North Korea recently.
Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun met Wednesday with Sweden's ambassador-designate to Pyongyang Andreas Bengtsson and discussed the Korean Peninsula issue, the Chinese Embassy in the North Korean capital said on its website.
Separately, a senior official of the German Foreign Office held talks with a minister at the Chinese embassy on Monday, according to the website.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said trips to Pyongyang by some European delegations are likely related to maintenance purposes to check their facilities that had been shut down since the pandemic. Britain and Switzerland also aim to reopen their embassies, according to reports.
Many embassies in Pyongyang closed because they were unable to rotate staff after North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 due to the public health crisis. Since last year, North Korea has allowed countries including China, Russia and Mongolia to send new diplomats to Pyongyang.
