STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden is happy to help resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula but it is up to the parties involved to try to find a way forward, Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said on Friday.

She was speaking a day after North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho landed in Sweden for talks, prompting speculation the visit could lay the groundwork for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

 "We believe in dialogue and in a political process," Wallstrom told reporters.

 "We are hoping that if we can use our role and also our contacts, then we will put them to the best use." 

 Sweden is among a number of countries touted as a possible venue for what would be a historic meeting between Trump and Kim, who have engaged in bellicose mudslinging over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. 

 It is one of the few western states with a diplomatic channel to the North Korean leadership and may be able to smooth out obstacles in the path of a summit meeting.

 Sweden acts as diplomatic representative in North Korea for the United States, which has no embassy there, and has helped with the release of U.S. citizens held by the reclusive state.

 

 At a news conference in Washington last week, Trump thanked Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven for helping American detainees in North Korea and particularly in securing the release of U.S. student Otto Warmbier last year. 

 Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported, without citing sources, that Ri planned to stay in Sweden until Sunday.

 A source familiar with the matter declined to comment but told Reuters the bilateral talks would end on Friday.

 

 (Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Johan Sennero; Editing by Andrew Roche)</s>(CNN) — Sweden’s top diplomat said Friday that her country stands ready to assist the United States and North Korea in moving forward a historic dialogue between the two nations.

Briefing reporters between meetings with her North Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said that the “security situation (on) the Korean Peninsula is of interest to the whole world” and that the Swedish government “values this opportunity to arrange a meeting” between the traditional foes.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is in Stockholm for two days of talks with Wallstrom.

His arrival in the Swedish capital is the first significant diplomatic move by Pyongyang since President Donald Trump said a week ago he would be willing to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

“We believe in dialogue and the political process, but we are not naïve,” Wallstrom said. “We are hoping that if we can use our role and also our contacts there, we will put it to the best use, and then it’s for the parties to decide.”

Earlier on Friday, Ri also met Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, the latter’s press secretary, Erik Nises, told CNN.

“They met this morning and discussed the same issues that are being discussed during this trip, such as the security situation,” he said.

The historically neutral European country, whose embassy represents US interests in the North Korean capital, has often played the role of intermediary in discussions between Washington and Pyongyang.

Should the leaders of the two nations sit down, it would be the first time that a sitting US President has met with the leader of the reclusive Asian nation.

Earlier, Lofven had said that Stockholm is willing to host the historic summit.

“We really want to help out,” Lofven said in an interview with Sweden’s TV4 network.

“If we can help and provide a forum for this and support this process, then this is something we should do.”

Sweden is one of a handful of places analysts believe could host the meeting, along with Switzerland, the neutral nation where Kim went to school; the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea; and China, which has diplomatic relations with the United States and North Korea and has hosted Kim’s father, the late Kim Jong Il.

The discussions between Ri and Wallstrom are to “focus on Sweden’s consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia,” the Swedish government said when the two-day visit was announced.

The first meeting, held Thursday, was brief, but both sides were to have “plenty of time to discuss the matters at hand” Friday, said Pezhman Fivrin, a spokesman for Wallstrom.

North Korea has yet to make official comment on a proposed face-to-face meeting. Trump accepted an invitation from Kim when a South Korean delegation delivered it verbally in Washington.

But diplomatic sources have signaled enough confidence in South Korea’s words and actions that most of the parties are pressing ahead.

The idea that Trump and Kim would sit down together was unthinkable just months ago when North Korea was regularly testing weapons in its pursuit of developing a missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead to the United States.

The diplomatic wheels started turning rapidly at the beginning of the year when the two Koreas worked to bring a handful of athletes from the North to compete in the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Since the end of the Games last month, Kim has hosted a high-level delegation from Seoul, which delivered the summit offer to Trump.

Stay connected! Download the CW39 NewsFix app for iOS or Android devices and the CW39 Weather app for iOS or Android devices.</s>STOCKHOLM — North Korea’s foreign minister met briefly with Sweden’s prime minister Friday during a surprise trip to Stockholm that has fueled speculation about a possible meeting in the Scandinavian country between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said Sweden is hoping that “we can use our role and also our contacts,” but stressed that it is up to the countries concerned to decide “which way we are going.” She said that “we value this opportunity to arrange a meeting,” though she didn’t specify what she meant.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, did not answer directly whether his country had U.S. support to organize talks with North Korea.

“We have always said we want to be a mediator that facilitates this process,” he said Friday.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived late Thursday and met with Wallstrom, then made a courtesy call Friday to Lofven at government headquarters.

Trump has agreed to meet Kim by May. So far, North Korea has yet to publicly comment on what it hopes to gain from the talks.

Sweden has been rumoured as a possible site for the summit, though a truce village on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas is seen as more likely.

Ri’s visit to Stockholm, where he once served as a diplomat at the North Korean Embassy, has been shrouded in secrecy.

The Swedish foreign ministry said ahead of his visit that talks would focus on “Sweden’s consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia” but also would address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Wallstrom was expected to hold further talks with Ri on Friday.

Sweden has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1973 and is one of few Western countries with an embassy in Pyongyang. It provides consular services for the United States in North Korea.
• Trump thinks North Korea will keep word on missile tests

The trip by Ri is being closely watched because a huge amount of preparation needs to be done before the summit.

Senior South Korean officials who travelled to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this month and met with Kim say he is willing to discuss the North’s nuclear weapons program.

That could suggest a potential breakthrough, or a fallback to the North’s longstanding position that it’s willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons if the U.S. guarantees its safety.

In the past, that has meant Washington would have to withdraw all of its troops from South Korea, a condition no U.S. president has been willing to consider.</s>North Korean ‎Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is making a rare and surprise visit to Sweden amid speculation that Stockholm might be the location of the planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Sweden is the diplomatic liaison between the U.S. and North Korea. Swedish officials have offered their country as a possible summit site.

Talks "will focus on Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia," the ministry said in a statement, but they also will address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"If the key actors want Sweden to play a role, facilitate (talks), be a forum or a link or whatever it may be, then we are prepared to do that," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told Sweden's TT news agency.

Niklas Swanstrom of the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy said such a meeting would only be preliminary to higher-level talks but they could give an indication of what North Korea's interests and demands may be.

"The assumption is of course that (they) will speak a bit about the proposed talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un," Swanstrom said, noting relations between the two Koreas "have improved significantly" in recent weeks.

The visit comes as South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-Wha arrived in Washington. She was to meet with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but will now meet with his one-time deputy John Sullivan in the wake of his dismissal. A summit is also planned for the end of next month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

North Korean state media has yet to confirm that either summit is taking place.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>STOCKHOLM — North Korea's foreign minister met briefly with Sweden's prime minister Friday during a surprise trip to Stockholm that has fueled speculation about a possible meeting in the Scandinavian country between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said Sweden is hoping that "we can use our role and also our contacts," but stressed that it is up to the countries concerned to decide "which way we are going." She said that "we value this opportunity to arrange a meeting," though she didn't specify what she meant.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, did not answer directly whether his country had U.S. support to organize talks with North Korea.

"We have always said we want to be a mediator that facilitates this process," he said Friday.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived late Thursday and met with Wallstrom, then made a courtesy call Friday to Lofven at government headquarters.

Trump has agreed to meet Kim by May. So far, North Korea has yet to publicly comment on what it hopes to gain from the talks.

Sweden has been rumored as a possible site for the summit, though a truce village on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas is seen as more likely.

Ri's visit to Stockholm, where he once served as a diplomat at the North Korean Embassy, has been shrouded in secrecy.

The Swedish foreign ministry said ahead of his visit that talks would focus on "Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia" but also would address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Wallstrom was expected to hold further talks with Ri on Friday.

Sweden has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1973 and is one of few Western countries with an embassy in Pyongyang. It provides consular services for the United States in North Korea.

The trip by Ri is being closely watched because a huge amount of preparation needs to be done before the summit.

Senior South Korean officials who traveled to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this month and met with Kim say he is willing to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program.

That could suggest a potential breakthrough, or a fallback to the North's longstanding position that it's willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons if the U.S. guarantees its safety.

In the past, that has meant Washington would have to withdraw all of its troops from South Korea, a condition no U.S. president has been willing to consider.

Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark. Eric Talmadge in Tokyo and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.</s>Stockholm (AFP) - North Korea's foreign minister held talks in Stockholm with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Friday amid reports Sweden could play a role in setting up a proposed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

"They had a meeting. We will not disclose what they talked about," Lofven's spokesman Jonatan Holst told AFP.

Ri Yong Ho arrived in the Swedish capital on Thursday evening with Choe Kang Il, deputy director general of the foreign ministry's North America section.

Ri held talks late Thursday and early Friday with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom, discussions which according to Swedish officials were to focus on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and a possible Trump-Kim summit.

No public statement from Ri or Wallstrom was expected after the conclusion of the talks on Friday evening, but the foreign ministry said it would publish a statement.

Some Swedish and foreign media have said Ri will stay in the Scandinavian country until Sunday for other talks, though Swedish officials would not confirm those reports.

Sweden has longstanding ties with North Korea. Its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, which opened in 1975, was the first Western embassy established in the country.

The embassy also represents US, Canadian and Australian diplomatic interests in North Korea, with Sweden playing a key role in liaising diplomatic talks.

International media have speculated that Sweden could either help set up a proposed summit, or be a potential location if a tete-a-tete were to be confirmed.

Sweden's foreign ministry has refused to comment on that possibility, saying only that the talks would "focus on Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia."

"They will also address the security situation on the Korean peninsula, which is high on the (UN) Security Council agenda," a ministry statement said. Sweden is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

"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".

After months of tension and warmongering over Pyongyang's nuclear programme, Trump has agreed to a summit proposal relayed by South Korean envoys who met Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

But no specific time or venue has been set and North Korea has yet to confirm it even made the offer to meet.

Lofven on Thursday said Sweden was "ready to" play a role if asked.</s>STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Talks between Sweden and North Korea in Stockholm will continue on Saturday after initially being due to end late on Friday, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

Sweden has said it is ready to act as a facilitator to help resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula.

 "Talks will continue tomorrow," the source said. 

 North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived in the Swedish capital on Thursday for talks with Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom.

 The rare visit prompted speculation the two diplomats could lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

 

 

 (Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom, Editing by William Maclean)</s>Jan M. Olsen And David Keyton, The Associated Press 

 



STOCKHOLM -- Sweden's foreign minister held what she called "good and constructive" talks with her North Korean counterpart on Friday amid growing speculation about a possible meeting in the Scandinavian country between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom refused to comment on whether she and North Korea's Ri Yong Ho discussed a Trump-Kim meeting in brief comments as she left the Stockholm villa where the meeting took place. The building is close to the embassies of South Korea and the United States.

"We'll see what happens next," Wallstrom said. Ri has not made any public comment during a visit to Stockholm that started late Thursday. He also held a brief meeting earlier Friday with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Wallstrom earlier said Sweden is hoping that "we can use our role and also our contacts," but stressed that it is up to the countries concerned to decide "which way we are going." She said that "we value this opportunity to arrange a meeting," though she didn't specify what she meant.

Lofven, speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, did not answer directly whether his country had U.S. support to organize talks with North Korea.

"We have always said we want to be a mediator that facilitates this process," he said Friday.

Trump has agreed to meet Kim by May. So far, North Korea has yet to comment publicly on what it hopes to gain from the talks.

Sweden has been rumoured as a possible site for the summit, though a truce village on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas is seen as more likely.

Ri's visit to Stockholm, where he once served as a diplomat at the North Korean Embassy, has been shrouded in secrecy.

The Swedish foreign ministry said ahead of his visit that talks would focus on "Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia" but also would address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Sweden has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1973 and is one of few Western countries with an embassy in Pyongyang. It provides consular services for the United States in North Korea.

The trip by Ri is being closely watched because a huge amount of preparation needs to be done before the summit.

Senior South Korean officials who travelled to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this month and met with Kim say he is willing to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program.

That could suggest a potential breakthrough, or a fallback to the North's longstanding position that it's willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons if the U.S. guarantees its safety.

In the past, that has meant Washington would have to withdraw all of its troops from South Korea, a condition no U.S. president has been willing to consider.</s>North Korea's top diplomat was on Thursday en route to Sweden for talks which could play a role in setting up a proposed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Sweden's embassy in Pyongyang also represents US, Canadian and Australian diplomatic interests in North Korea, with the country playing a key role in liaising diplomatic talks.

Sweden confirmed that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho was to visit the Scandinavian country for talks with his Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom.

"The talks will focus on Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia," a foreign ministry statement said.

"They will also address the security situation on the Korean peninsula, which is high on the (UN) Security Council agenda," it said. Sweden is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

"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".

Ri was travelling with Choe Kang Il, deputy director general of the foreign ministry's North America section, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

"We can't rule out the possibility of a contact between the North and the US" during Ri's trip to Sweden, a Beijing source told the news agency.

Ri was expected to arrive in Stockholm around 6:15 pm (1715 GMT).

The Swedish foreign ministry said there would not be any press conferences during his visit but that it would publish a statement on Friday evening after the conclusion of talks.

After months of tension and warmongering over Pyongyang's nuclear programme, Trump has agreed to a summit proposal relayed by South Korean envoys who met Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

But no specific time or venue has been set and North Korea has yet to confirm it even made the offer to meet.

International media have speculated that Sweden could be a potential location if the summit were to be confirmed.

The Scandinavian country has longstanding ties with North Korea -- its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang was the first Western embassy established in the country, in 1975.

North Korea also has an embassy in Stockholm, in the leafy residential suburb of Lidingo.

"I think it's much too early to speculate about that ... we're not there yet," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told news agency TT.

However, he added: "If the main actors want Sweden to play a role -- facilitate, be a forum or a link or whatever it may be -- then we are ready to do that," he said, referring to North and South Korea, the US, Japan and China.

"This is such an incredibly important issue. We are a country that is militarily non-aligned and have a longstanding presence in North Korea, and with the trust we enjoy we think we can play a role," he said.

"But it has to be the main actors who decide which role Sweden will play."

"We cannot be naive and think that Sweden is going to resolve these problems," he said.

Jerker Hellstrom, Asia specialist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) under the defence ministry, said Sweden has "an important role in the Korean peninsula, both as a protecting power and its contribution to the supervision of the (Korean War) armistice agreement."

However, North Korea watchers should not be overly optimistic about the current tone.

"The pause in escalation that we see right now is temporary," he said, noting that Pyongyang will eventually "need to prove its capabilities in the nuclear sphere."

Earlier this month, Trump thanked Lofven for Stockholm's efforts to negotiate the release of US student Otto Warmbier, who was arrested for stealing propaganda material during a 2016 trip to Pyongyang, but who died after returning home.

According to a source close to the Stockholm-Pyongyang talks, the fate of three Americans detained in North Korea is also expected to be on the agenda.

"We know these consular cases are of great concern to the Americans, and when there are now gestures being made from both sides to defuse tensions, this is something North Korea can consider from its side," the unnamed source told Sweden's newspaper of reference Dagens Nyheter.</s>North Korea's foreign minister is expected to land in Sweden for talks Thursday, ahead of expected talks between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

Ri Yong Ho is set to meet with his counterpart, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström, according to a statement from the Swedish foreign ministry.

"The talks will focus on Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia," a statement said, without providing details about why this relationship was being discussed.

Because the U.S. does not have an embassy or diplomatic relations with North Korea, it is represented in the country by Sweden. The same is also true for Canada and Australia.

"They will also address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is high on the Security Council agenda," it added, referring to the United Nations Security Council, of which Sweden is a nonpermanent member.

The Swedish statement added that Sweden fully supports the Security Council, which has "unanimously condemned North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs and demanded the complete, verifiable and irrevocable elimination of these program."

It said the aim of the North Korean visit "is to contribute to the effective implementation of the resolutions."

Ri's two-day visit to Sweden follows the surprise announcement last week of a planned meeting between Trump and Kim. While Pyongyang has remained silent over its agreement to the summit, officials in South Korea have said they expect to continue talks soon to work out details for an inter-Korean meeting.
North Korea foreign minister Ri Yong-ho visits Sweden for talks.