Pope says will visit N.Korea if he receives invitation -S. Korean broadcaster
26/08/2022 10:35
SEOUL, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has asked for
invitation from North Korea to visit the isolated country, South
Korean broadcaster KBS reported.
"I will go there as soon as they invite me. I'm saying they
should invite me. I will not refuse," KBS quoted the pope as
saying in the interview aired on Thursday.
Such a visit would be the first by a pope to the reclusive
state, which does not allow priests to be permanently stationed
there. Little is known about how many of its citizens are
Catholic, or how they practice their faith.
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is Catholic,
has urged Francis to visit North Korea, saying a papal visit to
Pyongyang would help build peace on the Korean Peninsula.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi
Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
((soohyang.choi@thomsonreuters.com;))