North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived in Sweden on Thursday as the North's top negotiator was en route to Washington DC for high-level talks with the U.S.  

Choe, who handles the country's relations with the U.S. and working-level talks on the North's denuclearization, arrived in Stockholm on Thursday afternoon via a flight from Beijing. 

The North Korean diplomat is reportedly visiting Sweden to attend an international conference organized by a private Swedish research institute. 

The U.S. is also reported to be sending officials to the conference, raising speculations that the two nations will hold a semiofficial one-point-five track meeting there. 

Attention is being drawn to whether Choe will hold her first meeting with her designated U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun since he was appointed U.S. special representative for North Korea last August. 

Choe will reportedly return to North Korea on Tuesday.