Seoul: South Korean President Chosun Ilbo has reportedly called on South Korean President Moon Jae-in several times to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after Pope Francis’s visit to Japan. “The Pope has been invited to meet with the military in the area that separates the two Koreas,” the government said in a news release.
It is reported that the invitation to visit the Korean peninsula after the end of the visit to Japan was handed over to the Archbishop of South Korea and Mongolia, Alfred Xuyereb, in July this year. The archbishop is reported to have informed the pope in early August. According to the report, Pope Francis was invited to visit Korea at the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity during his visit to the Vatican last year.
Moon’s office, however, has not received any confirmation or comment from the Vatican. The Vatican has not yet announced whether Pope Francis will visit South Korea, but it is reported that the Pope in Japan could change his plans. The Pontiff arrived in Japan last Saturday as part of his Asian tour. Pope Francis is the first pope to visit Japan in 38 years.
