North Korean official’s visit to Sweden fuels Trump, Kim talks

STOCKHOLM — North Korea’s foreign minister met with his Swedish counterpart Thursday after making a surprise trip to Stockholm that has fueled speculation about a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho landed at Stockholm Arlanda Airport on a direct flight from Beijing and spent several hours at the Swedish Foreign Ministry before returning to the North Korean Embassy.

Ri’s talks with Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom are expected to resume Friday.

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

“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 earlier Thursday.

“We shouldn’t be naive and believe it is Sweden that solves these problems,” Lofven added.

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.

Trump has agreed to meet Kim by May.

North Korea has yet to publicly comment on what it hopes to gain from the summits, adding an extra element of mystery and skepticism.