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South Korea's president said he was certain of peace on Thursday when he was preparing for an audience Thursday with Pope Francis where he is expected to extend an invitation to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Francis to visit.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Wednesday evening "Mass for Peace" in St. Peter's Basilica. The pope's top diplomat, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, celebrated the Mass.
In his homily, Parolin prayed for the "gift of peace" on the Korean peninsula so "after so many years of tensions and division, the word 'peace' can ring out fully."
"There will also be hope in the hearts of the people of the world as well as in the hearts and minds of the people of the world."
"Our prayers today will turn into reality for sure," the South Korean leader said. "We will achieve peace and overcome division without fail."
Moon signed a broad agreement with Kim on the peninsula. Kim said the pope would be "enthusiastically" welcomed in North Korea.
In an article that appeared in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, Moon praised Francis for his promotion of dialogue and said he hoped the Korean peace initiative could help the Vatican forge relations with the North.
Moon wrote that when he traveled to Pyongyang in September for the summit, he was joined by a Korean Catholic church to try to improve relations between the church in North and South.
"In recent months, the pope's prayer and blessing have given the Korean people great encouragement and hope on the path to peace," said Moon.
North Korea strictly controls the religious activities of its people, and a similar invitation for then-Pope John Paul II to visit after a 2000 inter-Korean summit never ended in a meeting.
The Vatican insisted that it would be possible if Catholic priests were accepted in North Korea.
Francis, however, has taken a less-absolutist approach in the Holy See's diplomacy, as evidenced by a recent deal over appointments signed with China, North Korea's closest ally. China's Communist Leaders, who's only allowed to practice in the state-sanctioned churches.
The Vatican's priests were expelled by North Korea long ago and state-appointed laymen officiate services. Estimates of the North Korean Catholics range from 800 to about 3,000, compared to more than 5 million in South Korea.
Following an unusually provocative run of weapons tests last year, Kim has been on a diplomatic offensive, which included the meeting with Moon and one with U.S. President Donald Trump.
