Seoul's Foreign Ministry says it expects Pope Francis' visit to South Korea next week would be a chance to heal the pain of Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery. 

At a regular news briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il commented on the significance of the pontiff's planned meeting with elderly former comfort women.

Noh said that the envisioned meeting would be meaningful in that it would heal their pain rather than resolving the issue.

Pope Francis is expected to meet with the elderly victims on August 18, the last day of his visit to Korea, at a Mass for Peace and Reconciliation at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.