Pope Francis says he is willing to visit North Korea if invited.
In a televised interview on August 26, he said he "would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace," reports AFP news agency.
In 2018, it was reported that the Pope might visit North Korea, the isolated, nuclear-armed country where former South Korean President Moon Jae-in had begun diplomatic talks with Kim Jong Un's leader. However, that did not happen.
During the dialogue between Kim and Moon, a Catholic, the former was willing to welcome the pope, according to Moon.
Even in those days, the pope had said that he was ready to consider visiting North Korea provided he got an official invitation.
It can be recalled here that North Korea could not continue to have a diplomatic dialogue with North Korea after "the second summit between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump in 2019, which has left talks at a standstill."
Since the new South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol took over in May, there has been no conducive contact with his counterpart in North Korea.
The Holy Father, time and again, has exhorted Koreans to work for peace. He also expressed his concern about the suffering of the Korean people.
According to North Korea’s constitution, religious freedom is enshrined. However, in reality, "all religious activity is banned outside of state-sanctioned institutions."
"In the early 20th century, before the division of the peninsula, Pyongyang was a regional missionary hub with scores of churches and a thriving Christian community that earned it the title "Jerusalem of the East," reports AFP.
Kim's grandfather, the late North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung, saw "Christianity as a threat and eradicated it through executions and labor camps."
North Korea permits "Catholic organizations to run aid projects, but direct relations with the Vatican are non-existent."
During his visit to South Korea in 2014, Pope Francis offered special prayers for the unification of the two Koreas during a Mass.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
