WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is reactivating its embassy in the capital of North Korea, becoming the second Western nation after Sweden to resume operations that were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the foreign ministry in Warsaw said Friday.

The move opens a channel of communication between Poland, a NATO member state, and Pyongyang, a close ally of Russia, which has provided troops to fight in Ukraine.

Polish diplomats were in the North Korean capital this week as Poland seeks to restore its diplomatic presence.

“The visit is of a technical and political nature and one of its main goals is to restore the permanent diplomatic presence," the ministry said.

The Polish embassy was closed in December 2020 after the North Korean authorities announced a complete closure of the state border due to COVID-19. That made the normal work of the diplomatic mission “impossible,” the ministry said.

Sweden resumed the activities of its mission in North Korea in September.