Sweden hosts North Korean foreign minister amid speculation
China's foreign ministry confirmed reports that Ri Yong Ho was transiting through the Chinese capital on his way to Sweden, but did not provide any further information.
"The fact that we are a protecting power for the USA, have been at the border since the 1950s and have had an embassy in Pyongyang since the start of the 1970s has given us a relationship with North Korea in which we feel they trust us", he said.
Ri Yong-ho and Margot Wallström, the Swedish foreign minister, were due to discuss security on the Korean peninsula, including the North implementing United Nations security council resolutions over its nuclear programme.
Mr. Löfven, in an interview with Sweden's TT newswire, also cited his country's role as a protecting power for the United States as a reason for acting as a conduit between it and North Korea.
North Korea's foreign minister landed in Sweden on Thursday for talks, prompting speculation that the two-day trip could lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"We can not be naive and think that Sweden is going to resolve these problems", he said.
"The aim of the visit is to contribute to the effective implementation of the resolutions" voted by the Security Council against Pyongyang over its nuclear programme as well as those calling "for intensified diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict".
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The Swedish ministry said a statement summarising the talks will be made available on Friday.
Ri, a former diplomat in Stockholm and London and an ex-nuclear envoy with experience negotiating with rivals South Korea and the United States, was tapped as Pyongyang's foreign minister in 2016.
"They will also address the security situation on the Korean peninsula, which is high on the (UN) Security Council agenda", it said.
The trip by Ri is being closely watched because there remains a huge amount of preparation that needs to be done and relatively little time before Kim is supposedly planning to sit down for summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump.
Mr. Trump's decision to accept Mr. Kim's invitation to meet shocked the diplomatic establishment last week, coming after months of bellicose insults and threats between the two leaders and their governments.
Sweden, which is not a member of the US -led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military alliance, has been mentioned as a potential location for a possible face-to-face meeting between Trump and Kim.
Senior South Korean officials who traveled to Pyongyang earlier this month and met with Kim say he is willing to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program. It did not mention engagement with the United States.
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