North Korea’s foreign minister met Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in Stockholm on Friday. The Swedish Foreign Ministry said the meeting with Ri Yong-ho would focus on “Sweden’s consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia” and also address “the security situation on the Korean peninsula”, according to The Guardian.

The talks added to expectations of a Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un meeting, as Sweden has long liaised between the United States and North Korea. Sweden’s non-alignment policy allows it to mediate between states with strained diplomatic relations.

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Prime Minister Lofven said that Sweden will involve itself in the ties between Washington and Pyongyang only “if the main actors want Sweden to play a role”, the BBC reported. “We are a country that is militarily non-aligned and have a longstanding presence in North Korea,” he said. “With the trust we enjoy, we think we can play a role, but it has to be the main actors who decide which role Sweden will play.”

Before meeting Lofven, the North Korean foreign minister met Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. During Ri’s meeting with the prime minister, they also discussed confidence-building measures with the US, including the release of American citizens from detention in North Korea.

On March 8, US President Trump accepted North Korea’s invitation for a meeting with Kim Jong-un. Since a delegation from South Korea announced the news, there has been no official word from the North on the talks.

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If Trump and Kim do meet, Sweden could be a possible venue, according to CNN.

Tensions between the North Korean regime and the US escalated in 2017 after Pyongyang stepped up its nuclear efforts. Trump had warned North Korea a number of times against boosting its nuclear weapons programme, and the two leaders had frequently traded ridicule, insults and threats.