South Korean Presidents asks Pope Francis to visit North in peace effort on peninsula
Oct 29, 2021
Seoul [South Korea], October 29 (ANI/Sputnik): South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday urged Pope Francis to visit North Korea to promote and ensure peace between the two Koreas, his office said.
Moon is currently in Rome for the G20 summit, due to be held from Saturday through Sunday.
"If Your Holiness has the opportunity and pays a visit to North Korea, it will build momentum for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon was quoted as saying by his office when addressing the Pope.
The pontiff will "gladly" visit the North if invited between the two Koreas, the office said in a follow-up tweet.
In 1953, both South and North Korea reached an Armistice Agreement that ended the three-year war. However, formally, the Korean Peninsula is still at war because it ended without a peace treaty.
On September 25, Pyongyang said that it was ready to declare the end of the war with Seoul, bring back the Inter-Korean Liaison Office, and hold a leaders' summit provided that bilateral relations are marked by respect and fairness.
However, regional tensions have recently flared up as North Korea announced that it test-fired a newly-developed anti-aircraft missile. (ANI/Sputnik)
