SEOUL, 27 August 2022, (TON): Pope Francis has asked Pyongyang to invite him to North Korea, saying in a televised interview on Friday that he would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace.
A potential papal visit to the isolated, nuclear-armed country was previously floated in 2018 when Seoul’s former president Moon Jae-in embarked on a round of diplomacy with Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un.
Moon, who is Catholic, said during a summit that Kim told him the pontiff would be enthusiastically welcomed.
Pope Francis replied at the time that he would be willing to go if he received an official invitation.