By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-16 03:57:08 | Updated at 2026-06-16 11:14:25
7 hours ago
VATICAN CITY – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung invited Pope Leo to visit the Asian nation in 2027 as he sought the pontiff’s support in building peace on the Korean peninsula.
Lee proposed at a meeting with the pope at the Vatican on June 15 that the visit coincide with Seoul’s hosting of World Youth Day in August 2027.
The event is the Catholic Church’s mass global gathering for young people.
The last papal visit to South Korea was by Pope Francis in 2014.
South Korea’s leader is on a European tour that will continue with the Group of Seven summit in France before he returns home.
Lee “conveyed to the pope the aspirations of our people and our government’s vision for the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.
A senior South Korean official said the pontiff’s potential visit to North Korea was raised at a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
It’s not the first time South Korea has sought papal support to improve ties with its nuclear-armed neighbour.
In 2018, then-President Moon Jae-in relayed an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the Vatican after the two leaders met in Pyongyang.
It’s unclear how receptive North Korea would be to the idea this time around.
US President Donald Trump held talks with Kim three times during his first presidency but the engagement failed to persuade the North Korean leader to abandon his nuclear ambitions.
Kim has since emerged as a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, accelerating his arms buildup and shunning Seoul’s efforts to improve ties.
The proposal comes a week after Chinese leader Xi Jinping skipped any public mention of denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula during his visit to Pyongyang for a summit with Kim.
During the visit, Xi’s first to the neighbouring country in seven years, the two leaders vowed to strengthen ties, including in the defence sector. BLOOMBERG
