Switzerland formally opened its first diplomatic office in North Korea on Thursday evening, with Bern’s top diplomat in attendance. 

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and a DPRK diplomat cut a red ribbon at the office’s opening ceremony in Pyongyang, according to photos and footage he shared on social media late Thursday. 

In the post, the minister called the event a “new chapter for Switzerland’s presence in Pyongyang” and a “concrete step towards strengthening direct dialogue with the DPRK.”

He also took photos with the diplomat and other DPRK officials, holding a memorial plaque dated Oct. 30 and dedicated to the “reactivation