Pope Francis asks DPRK to invite him to visit, 'work for peace'

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Pope Francis asked North Korea's Pyongyang to invite him to the country, emphasizing he would not refuse a chance to visit and work for peace, during a televised interview with South Korea's state broadcaster KBS on Friday.

A potential papal visit to the country was suggested in 2018 when former president Moon Jae-in embarked on a round of diplomacy with Pyongyang's Kim Jong Un.

Moon, a Catholic, said during a summit that Kim told him the pope would be "enthusiastically" welcomed. The pope replied back then that if he receives an official invitation, he would be willing to go.

However, communication has been largely cut off with Seoul after a second summit between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, which halted the talks.

"When they invite me -- that is to say, please invite me -- I won't say no," Pope Francis said Friday, adding, "The goal is simply fraternity."

North and South Korea's relationship was cold since Seoul introduced into office a hawkish president, Yoon Suk-yeol, in May, who offered aid to the north in exchange for denuclearisation, but the DPRK ridiculed the plan.

Pyongyang accused South Korea of its May outbreak of Covid-19 and earlier this month vowed retaliation against South Korea if the latter were to continue embarking on the path that could cause Covid-19 to seep into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"If the enemy persists in such dangerous actions as provoking the entry of the virus into our republic, we will respond by eradicating not only the virus but also the South Korean authorities," Yonhap news agency quoted the DPRK leader's sister as saying.

The pope has repeatedly called on the Koreans on the peninsula to "work for peace."

While the DPRK allows Catholic organizations to run aid projects, but direct relations with the Vatican do not exist.

In 2014, Pope Francis visited South Korea and held a special mass dedicated to the reunification of the two Koreas.