Pope Francis asks North Korea to invite him to visit

Pope Francis, seen here waving to pilgrims during the weekly general audience at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican, on Aug 24, 2022, has repeatedly urged Koreans on the peninsula to 'work for peace'. - AFP

SEOUL (AFP): Pope Francis has asked Pyongyang to invite him to North Korea, saying in a televised interview on Friday (Aug 26) that he would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace.

A potential papal visit to the isolated, nuclear-armed country was previously floated in 2018 when Seoul's former president Moon Jae-in embarked on a round of diplomacy with Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-un.