(ANSA) - Beijing, October 18 - Pope Francis expressed
willingness to visit North Korea if formally invited during an
audience in the Vatican on Thursday with South Korean President
Moon Jae-in, the Yonhap agency quoted Moon's spokesman as
saying.
It said that Moon passed on a "verbal invitation" from North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"The pope said that 'I would give an unconditional response
if an official invitation arrived and I can go'," Moon's
spokesperson Yoon Young-chan said, according to Yonhap.
Moon also met Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and
Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with
States.
"During the cordial discussions, the parties evoked the good
bilateral relations and the positive contribution offered by the
Church in the social, education and healthcare sectors, as well
as the promotion of dialogue and reconciliation between
Koreans," the Vatican said in a statement.
"Strong appreciation was expressed for the common commitment
to fostering all useful initiatives to overcome the tensions
that still exist in the Korean Peninsula, in order to usher in a
new season of peace and development".
Pope would be willing to visit N. Korea
Would give unconditional response of formally invited - Yonhap