South Korea's Moon Jae-in Meets Pope Francis, Urges Him To Visit North Korea

Moon Jae-in told Pope Francis that a papal visit to Pyongyang would help revive the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Pope Francis on Friday, giving him a cross made from barbed wire from the peninsula's demilitarized zone and again urging him to visit North Korea.

Moon, who is Catholic, was in Rome for the G20 summit of world leaders. He held private talks with the pope for about 25 minutes, the Vatican said.

Moon's office said the president, who will leave office in May, had told Francis that a papal visit to Pyongyang would help revive the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

"If you send me an invitation, I will gladly go to help you, for the sake of peace. Aren't you brothers who speak the same language? I'm willing to go," it quoted the pope as saying.