G20 summit in Rome: South Korea's president asks Pope to visit North Korea

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Moon Jae In (2nd from left), President of South Korea, speaks with Pope Francis during a private audience

Photo: Vatican Media;

Press office;

Vatic / dpa

South Korean President Moon Jae In has asked Pope Francis to visit North Korea.

"If the Pope takes the opportunity to visit North Korea, it will be an impulse for peace on the Korean peninsula," said Moon, according to a statement from the presidential office on Friday.

Accordingly, the Pope is said to have responded to the request in an open-minded manner.

Pope Francis said he was "ready to go" when he received an invitation from North Korea, according to the South Korean presidential office.

In addition to a possible North Korea visit by the pontiff, the two also exchanged views on the corona pandemic and global climate change.

President Moon has been in Rome since Thursday, where he is also attending the G20 summit.

Back in 2018, during a meeting with Pope Francis, Moon handed over the message that North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un wanted to invite the head of the Catholic Church to a state visit.

However, an official invitation has not yet been issued.

The Korean peninsula has been divided into north and south since the Korean War (1950-53).

To date, the governments in Seoul and Pyongyang have not signed a peace treaty.

North Korea has the right to religious freedom anchored in its constitution, but according to human rights organizations, the state vehemently persecutes Christians and other believers.

According to reports from North Korean refugees, just possession of a Bible can lead to several years in prison in a political prison camp.

Unusually long audience with Joe Biden

Pope Francis also received US President Joe Biden in the Vatican for an unusually long private audience.

After the meeting, which lasted around one and a half hours, political talks followed in an extended circle, including with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as the White House announced.

According to the US government, talks with Francis should include the fight against the corona pandemic, climate change and the global fight against poverty.

Regular churchgoer Biden is only the second Catholic president in US history.

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Joe Biden (l), President of the USA, shakes hands with Pope Francis at a meeting in the Vatican

Photo: Divisione Produzione Fotografica / dpa

At first it remained unclear whether the controversial topic of abortion was also discussed at the meeting.

Biden's government supports the right to abortion, which is contrary to the position of the Catholic Church.

Individual US bishops had therefore called for Biden to be excluded from communion.

In June, the US Bishops' Conference felt compelled to clarify that no resolution had been taken to exclude certain people from communion.

The Pope then warned that bishops should be pastors and not politicians.

Francis said in September that he had not refused communion to anyone.

At the same time, he left no doubt about the position of the Church: abortions are "murder," said Francis.

"If you have an abortion, you kill, to put it bluntly."

mfh / dpa