Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland’s foreign minister, will travel to North Korea this week to officially open his country’s diplomatic office in Pyongyang and resume Switzerland’s permanent representation in this country.

The Swiss government announced the trip on Monday. Cassis will enter North Korea on Thursday, 7 Aban, and the official opening will be held on 8 Aban. The office, however, has been operating in practice since 27 Mehr.

The office works under the Swiss embassy in Beijing, and responsibility for diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea remains with that embassy.

Cassis’s talks with North Korean officials will cover the resumption of bilateral consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, security on the Korean Peninsula, and geopolitical issues. After the trip, he will go to Seoul and meet with South Korean officials.

In recent years, Switzerland has actively restarted contacts with North Korea, while the European Union said it has effectively halted direct dialogue with the country.