Sweden's foreign ministry said, "The talks will focus on Sweden's consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia.

"They will also address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is high on the Security Council agenda," it said in a statement posted on its website.

Ri, who arrived in Stockholm on Thursday, kicked off his two-day trip, which was also joined by Choe Kang-il, a senior North Korean official in charge of American affairs.

Ri is said to have met with Sweden's foreign minister for dinner and talks.

Trump has agreed to an invitation by Kim Jong-un to meet after a year of heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The summit, which Trump said would take place by May, would be the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, has been frequently used as a communication channel between the US and the North. Sweden is being cited as one of the possible venues for the US-North Korean summit.

There is speculation that the North and Sweden may have discussed the issue of the release of three Americans detained in North Korea -- Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song.

Otto Warmbier, a US college student, died last year shortly after being sent home from Pyongyang in a coma following a 17-month detention in the North. (Yonhap)