Vatican Spokesman Greg Burke on Monday dismissed reports that a meeting on nuclear disarmament set to take place next month was part of attempted "mediation" by Pope Francis between North Korea and the United States.
"It is false to talk of mediation," Burke said. "It is not mediation and it is not a summit either.
"It is a high-level conference on nuclear disarmament". Rome-based daily La Repubblica on Monday linked the meeting to a reported bid to mediate to prevent tensions between North Korea and the United States escalating into conflict. "The tangible sign of the papal intervention on the North Korean crisis is the world meeting for nuclear disarmament on November 10 and 11 that Pope Francis wanted," the daily said.
The gathering will take place in the Vatican and the Holy See will be represented by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Peter Turkson, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. Eleven Nobel Peace Prize winners are expected to take part and Pope Francis is set to open the conference with a speech.
"The speech is expected to be much more than a simple appeal to stop the arms race," La Repubblica said.
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