Korea peace talks may be held in Sweden

NORTH KOREA’S foreign minister has travelled to Sweden for talks, giving rise to speculation that the country might host the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, has frequently been used as a communication channel between the US and North Korea. It joins Geneva – and the demilitarised zone on the North and South Korean border – as a possible location for the unprecedented meeting.

Margot Wallstrom, Sweden’s foreign minister, said although it was up to the countries concerned to decide when and where they could meet, “we value this opportunity to arrange a meeting”, although she did not specify what she meant. Stefan Lofven, the Swedish prime minister, speaking at a press conference in Berlin with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was equally vague.

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

Ri Yong-ho’s two-day trip and meeting with Ms Wallstrom has also raised hopes about the possible release of three Americans detained in North Korea – Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song.

Sweden was the first Western European nation to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1973 and its embassy performs consular services for the US, Australia and Canada.