Seoul: In a televised interview on Friday, Pope Francis said that he would not turn down the chance to visit North Korea and promote peace. He has now requested an invitation from Pyongyang.
The idea of a papal visit to the reclusive, nuclear-armed nation was first raised in 2018, when Moon Jae-in, the former president of Seoul, engaged in diplomatic negotiations with Kim Jong Un.
Catholic Moon claimed at a summit that Kim assured him the pope would be "enthusiastically" received.
When asked at the time, Pope Francis replied that he would be open to travelling if an official invitation were extended.
However, Pyongyang has largely cut off communication with Seoul after a second summit between Kim and the then-US president Donald Trump in 2019 fell apart, putting a halt to negotiations.
Pope Francis stated in an interview that aired on Friday for South Korea's state broadcaster KBS, "When they invite me — that is to say, please invite me — I won't say no."
"Fraternity is the only goal," he continued.
Since Yoon Suk-yeol, a hawkish new president of South Korea, took office in May, relations between the North and South Korea have reached an extremely low point.
Yoon offered the North assistance in exchange for denuclearization, but Kim's government mocked the proposal.
Earlier this month, the North threatened to "wipe out" Seoul's government in retaliation for South Korea's COVID-19 outbreak in May.
This year, North Korea conducted a record number of weapons tests, including the first intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017.
The pope has urged Koreans living on the peninsula to "work for peace" on numerous occasions.
He declared, "You, the Korean people, have suffered as a result of the war.
The North's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but all religious activity outside of state-approved institutions is prohibited.
Prior to the division of the peninsula, Pyongyang was the "Jerusalem of the East," a regional missionary hub with a large number of churches and a thriving Christian community.
However, the North's late founding leader Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current ruler, saw Christianity as a threat and worked to eradicate it through executions and labour camps.
Since then, the North's government has permitted Catholic charities to manage aid initiatives, but there are no ongoing, formal ties between the North and the Vatican.
Pope Francis celebrated a special mass for the unification of the two Koreas during his 2014 visit to South Korea.
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