The government appointed Joachim Bergström as new ambassador to Pyongyang this summer. He took up the position on September 1, but it was until December 13 before a letter of credit was handed over at a ceremony in North Korea's capital Pyongyang.
The Swedish head of state's authority to the receiving country's head of state is a formality. It is not uncommon for it to take time, states the Foreign Ministry.
Nuclear weapons meeting in StockholmSweden is a protective force for several Western countries in North Korea, including the United States because they lack diplomatic representation. The mission includes mediating between North Korea and the United States and possible disarmament of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.
Therefore, on October 4, 2019, North Korea and the United States met in Sweden at a courtyard in Lidingö. North Korea's nuclear negotiator Kim Myong-Gil and US negotiator Stephen Biegun participated.
There have been several similar meetings in Sweden.
But already the day after, North Korea said it had interrupted the talks to go home. Just over a month later, North Korea said Sweden "would behave," Reuters reported.
North Korea's nuclear weapons negotiator Kim Myong-Gil said that Sweden's attempt to mediate a US-North Korea dialogue is unnecessary because the countries already know each other's positions.
Since the meeting in Lidingö, Sweden's special envoy for the Korean peninsula, Kent Härstedt, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been sparse with comments.
Härstedt has said that Sweden has invited the US and North Korea to a new meeting. The Foreign Ministry gives the same message after Joachim Bergström is officially an ambassador to Pyongyang.
“Regarding your question about North Korean statements on Sweden's mediator role, we refrain from commenting. We talk directly to the parties about this, ”writes Buster Mirow Emitslöf , press communicator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an email to SVT.
Trump went homeSweden mediates between North Korea and the US with the hope that US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un will have a third summit.
The latest - the second story between the countries - was implemented in Vietnam in February 2019. But it was prematurely canceled as Donald Trump left the negotiations and went home.
Kim Jong-Un has set the year-end deadline for resuming talks with the United States on possible nuclear disarmament. North Korea has said that it is up to the United States what "Christmas present" you want from North Korea.