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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to Pyongyang, the South Korean presidential office announced on Tuesday as part of a new diplomatic action by the repressive regime while negotiating an agreement of nuclear disarmament with Washington.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to follow up on Kim's invitation when he will meet the pope during a European tour next week, a spokesman said. the presidency at a press briefing in Seoul. Kim asked Moon to send the invitation at his summit last month in Pyongyang, Seoul officials said.
"President Kim Jong Un asked the president to tell the pope that if Pope Francis went to Pyongyang, Mr. Kim would" very much like it, "said Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for Moon.
The Vatican did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, while John Paul II visited it in 1984 and 1989. No pope visited North Korea.
A papal visit to Pyongyang would likely spark criticism from the Vatican, which recently signed a controversial deal with China over the appointment of bishops in the world's most populous country. North Korea is among the worst in the world in terms of human rights and runs a network of political prison camps in which survivors say they have been subjected to torture, forced labor and starvation.
During his five-day visit to the South four years ago, Pope Francis led prayers for peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas. But the day the pope arrived in Seoul, North Korea launched a series of short-range rockets.
Pyongyang visits the Vatican as it embarks on tough negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program and a second summit with President Trump on the implementation of the June agreement . North Korea is seeking diplomatic support in its efforts to bring about a relaxation of international sanctions and urges the United States to accelerate the symbolic declaration aimed at putting an end to hostile relations. Mr. Moon, the South Korean leader, served as an unofficial intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang.
Kim plans a trip to Moscow, Russian officials confirmed on Monday. He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping again soon, and may also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to the South Korean presidential office.
In August 2003, North Koreans visited a Catholic church in Pyongyang. Kim Il Sung built three prestigious churches in the city.
Photo:
lee jae-won / Reuters
The North Korean regime has always practiced the repression of religious freedom, although the northern half of the peninsula sheltered thousands of Christians, including Catholics, before the arrival of Mr. Kim's grandfather in power. , Kim Il Sung, after World War II. Pyongyang was once known as the "Jerusalem of the East" for its preponderance of Christians and Kim Il Sung built three window-churches in the city.
While North Korea accepts Christian aid, it views Christianity as a threat, according to a memoir by Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected in 2016.
The regime jailed Christians for praying and detaining a Bible. Preaching is forbidden, but some aid workers claim to speak about their beliefs in private with people who ask for it, despite the risks.
In 1992, Billy Graham, an American Christian evangelist, went to Pyongyang, where he met the then leader, Kim Il Sung, and handed him a book.
-Francis X. Rocca in Rome contributed to this article.
Write to Andrew Jeong at [email protected]
