Misplaced Pages

Embassy of Sweden, Pyongyang
Location	Pyongyang
Address	Munsudong 3 Taedonggang District Pyongyang Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Coordinates	39°01′23″N 125°47′32″E / 39.02310°N 125.79213°E / 39.02310; 125.79213
Opening	1975
Ambassador	Andreas Bengtsson
Website	Official website

The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang is Sweden's diplomatic mission in North Korea, which is located in the country's capital Pyongyang. The Swedish Embassy was one of the first embassies in North Korea, opening in 1975. The ambassador since July 2021 is Andreas Bengtsson. Until 2001, Sweden was the only Western country with uninterrupted diplomatic representation in the city. The Swedish embassy serves as the protecting power for the United States and as consular representation for Australia, Canada, Italy, Latvia, Iceland and Finland.

History

The Swedish government recognized North Korea in the council on 6 April 1973. According to the government's assessment, recognizing both Korean states would significantly contribute to easing tensions in the region. Foreign Minister Krister Wickman commented on the decision by stating that there was Nordic consensus on the issue, which had been agreed upon at the Nordic foreign ministers' meeting the previous month. On 8 April 1973, North Korea declared that it had received and accepted Sweden's proposal to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries. The official North Korean news agency announced that Foreign Minister Ho Dam, in his response to the message from Foreign Minister Wickman, stated, "On behalf of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, I have the honor to inform you that it agrees to your government's proposal to establish diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Sweden." Sweden's ambassador to China, Arne Björnberg, was accredited in Pyongyang in May 1973.

The embassy was opened in 1975 and the first ambassador with the title chargé d'affaires was Erik Cornell (1975–1977). After North Korea, on 6 November 1975, requested that Australia close its embassy in Pyongyang, claiming it had engaged in "systematic subversive activities" against North Korea, Australia's ambassador to Sweden approached the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, asking if Sweden would serve as Australia's protecting power in Pyongyang, to which Sweden agreed. Since 1995, Sweden has acted as the protecting power for the United States in North Korea. Until 2001, Sweden was the only western country with an unbroken diplomatic presence in North Korea.

The Swedish embassy in Pyongyang is today co-located with the French, British embassy and the German embassy. The chancery is the former embassy building for East Germany, originally shared with only Germany and the Italian aid agency, with the British later joining in 2001. On September 16, 2010, Barbro Elm handed over her letter of credence to North Korean President Kim Yong-nam. On 9 December 2010, the Government Offices announced that the embassy was in danger of being closed down due to the cuts to be made to the Government Offices' costs. On 26 April 2012, Karl-Olof Andersson, current Rector of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' diplomatic program and secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Admissions Committee, was appointed new ambassador in the autumn of 2012. On 2 October 2012, Andersson handed over his credentials to Kim Yong-nam in a ceremony that took place in the Mansudae Congress Hall.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the diplomats were temporarily withdrawn in 2020. The embassy remained open and was staffed by local employees. In September 2024, Swedish diplomats have returned to the embassy. This made Sweden the first Western country to resume regular diplomatic operations in North Korea since the pandemic.

Building

• Chancery pictured in 2011
• Chancery pictured in 2018

Chiefs of mission

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in North Korea
• List of diplomatic missions of Sweden

References

1. "Korejas Tautas Demokrātiskā Republika | Ārlietu ministrija". www.mfa.gov.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
2. Östlund, Bo (1973-04-07). "Sverige erkänner Nordkorea. "Nordisk enighet i frågan"" [Sweden recognizes North Korea. 'Nordic unity on the issue']. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 11. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
3. "Nordkorea accepterar erkännandet" [North Korea accepts the recognition]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Tokyo. AP. 1973-04-09. p. 7. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
4. Sandström, Margareta, ed. (1974-01-27). "i vimlet: Kontakter med Kina..." [in the crowd: Contacts with China...]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 16. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
5. Hajek, Danny (December 4, 2017). "How 1,000 Volvos Ended Up In North Korea — And Made A Diplomatic Difference". NPR. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
6. "Nordkorea stänger ambassad / Sverige blir skyddsmakt" [North Korea closes its embassy / Sweden becomes the protecting power]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Tokyo. AP. 1975-11-07. p. 6. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
7. Turfjell, Karin (2019-03-27). "Svenskt rum står redo för USA i Pyongyang" [Swedish room is ready for the USA in Pyongyang]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 6. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
8. Roden, Lee (March 16, 2018). "What exactly is Sweden doing in North Korea?". The Local. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
9. "Sweden in Pyongyang on X: "Act of Remembrance this morning in Pyongyang. We are proud to share an embassy compound with our colleagues and friends from France, Germany and the United Kingdom."". X. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2025-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
10. Hoare, James (2004). "A Brush with History: Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–2002". Papers of the British Association for Korean Studies. 9. Archived from the original on 4 November 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
11. "Sveriges ambassadör träffar Nordkoreas statschef" (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
12. Munck, Anders (December 9, 2010). "Regeringen nedröstad" [The government voted down]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved April 9, 2021.
13. "Ny ambassadör till Nordkorea och ny chef för Sveriges delegation i OSSE" [New ambassador to North Korea and new head of Sweden's delegation to the OSCE] (in Swedish). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. April 26, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
14. "Sweden's new ambassador meets with North Korea's head of state". Swedish Embassy of Pyongyang. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
15. "Sweden temporarily pulls its diplomats out of North Korea". Reuters. August 18, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
16. "Swedish diplomats return to North Korea, four years after leaving due to COVID". NK News. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.

External links

• Official website (in English)

v t e Diplomatic missions of Sweden
Embassies are the main entries, while consulate-generals are shown as sub-entries.
Africa	Algeria Burkina Faso [sv] Democratic Republic of the Congo [sv] Egypt [sv] Ethiopia [sv] Kenya [sv] Liberia [sv] Mali Morocco [sv] Mozambique [sv] Nigeria [sv] Rwanda [sv] Sudan [sv] South Africa Tanzania [sv] Tunisia [sv] Uganda [sv] Zambia [sv] Zimbabwe [sv]
Americas	Argentina Bolivia [sv] Brazil [sv] Canada Chile [sv] Colombia [sv] Cuba [sv] Guatemala [sv] Mexico United States New York City San Francisco
Asia	Afghanistan [sv] Armenia [sv] Azerbaijan [sv] Bangladesh China Hong Kong Shanghai Georgia [sv] India Mumbai Indonesia [sv] Iraq Iran Israel [sv] Jerusalem Japan Jordan [sv] Kazakhstan [sv] Lebanon Malaysia [sv] North Korea Pakistan [sv] Philippines [sv] Qatar [sv] Saudi Arabia [sv] Singapore [sv] South Korea [sv] Syria [sv] Taiwan Thailand Turkey [sv] Istanbul [sv] United Arab Emirates [sv] Vietnam [sv]
Europe	Albania [sv] Austria [sv] Belarus [sv] Bosnia and Herzegovina [sv] Belgium Bryssel [sv] Croatia [sv] Cyprus [sv] Czech Republic Denmark Estonia [sv] Finland Mariehamn [sv] France Germany Greece Hungary [sv] Iceland [sv] Ireland Italy Kosovo [sv] Latvia [sv] Lithuania [sv] North Macedonia [sv] Moldova [sv] Netherlands Norway Poland [sv] Portugal [sv] Romania [sv] Russia Serbia [sv] Spain [sv] Switzerland [sv] Ukraine [sv] United Kingdom
Oceania	Australia
Former	Angola Belgium Botswana [sv] Bulgaria [sv] Cambodia [sv] Canada Montreal Ecuador [sv] Guinea-Bissau [sv] Holy See [sv] Ivory Coast [sv] Kuwait [sv] Libya [sv] Namibia [sv] Nicaragua [sv] New Zealand [sv] Peru Russia Saint Petersburg [sv] Sri Lanka [sv] United Kingdom London United States Chicago Houston Los Angeles Minneapolis Uruguay [sv] Venezuela [sv]
No diplomatic relations with Taiwain, functions as an informal diplomatic mission

v t e Diplomatic missions in North Korea
Asia	China Chongjin
Europe	Russia
Currently closed due to COVID restriction	Brazil [pt] Germany Indonesia Iran Malaysia [ko] United Kingdom Venezuela [ja] Palestine Poland [pl] Sweden

v t e North Korea–United States relations
Diplomatic posts	Old Korean Legation Museum United States Special Representatives for North Korea Embassy of the United States, Seoul Ambassadors of the United States to South Korea Embassy of Sweden, Pyongyang Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Diplomacy	Agreed Framework Six-party talks 2018–19 Korean peace process Singapore Summit Reactions Hanoi Summit DMZ Summit Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula Recovery of US human remains from the Korean War
Conflicts	Korean conflict Korean War Hill 303 massacre Sinchon Massacre Operation Combat Fox Operation Formation Star Allegations of biological warfare Korean Armistice Agreement Iran–Iraq War CIA activities in North Korea Team Spirit Foal Eagle Operation Weasel Max Thunder Ulchi-Freedom Guardian Nuclear power in North Korea North Korea and weapons of mass destruction Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization Iran–Israel proxy conflict Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
Incidents	Chaplain–Medic massacre Bloody Gulch massacre Charles Robert Jenkins USS Pueblo (AGER-2) 1969 EC-121 shootdown incident Lod Airport massacre Korean axe murder incident Evan Hunziker Axis of Evil Disappearance of David Louis Sneddon Delta Asia Financial Group Dai Hong Dan incident 2009 imprisonment of American journalists Euna Lee Laura Ling Han Park Aijalon Gomes Kenneth Bae Dennis Rodman Merrill Newman Matthew Todd Miller Jeffrey Edward Fowle The Interview Sony Pictures hack Otto Warmbier North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident Travis King Foreign nationals detained in North Korea
Legislation	Sanctions against North Korea Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2013 Trump travel ban Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
Related	South Korea–United States relations 2008 New York Philharmonic visit to North Korea 38 North Anti-American sentiment in Korea Death to America Korean American National Coordinating Council Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities State Sponsors of Terrorism Stuxnet Superdollar Put It Down
Category:North Korea–United States relations

• Sweden
• North Korea
• United States
• Politics

• 1975 establishments in North Korea
• Diplomatic missions of Sweden
• Diplomatic missions in Pyongyang
• North Korea–Sweden relations
• Australia–North Korea relations
• Canada–North Korea relations
• Iceland–North Korea relations
• Italy–North Korea relations
• Finland–North Korea relations
• North Korea–United States relations
• Australia–Sweden relations
• Canada–Sweden relations
• Iceland–Sweden relations
• Italy–Sweden relations
• Finland–Sweden relations
• Sweden–United States relations