Eleven years after the collapse of the previous dialogue, North Korea has agreed to re-open bilateral talks with the EU to discuss its human rights situation.

The decision was triggered by last month’s high-level visit to the EU by Kang Sok Ju, International Secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party and former chief negotiator at the Six-Party Talks. Kang visited the EU’s External Action Service in Brussels, Belgium, along with Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then stopping off in Mongolia on the way back to Pyongyang.