Anchor: Pope Francis has expressed his willingness to visit North Korea during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in at the Vatican. With the pontiff’s strong support and blessing for his efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula, Moon is set to hold a series of summit talks with European leaders in Brussels.
Lee Bo-kyung has more.

Report: President Moon Jae-in, who is on a tour of Europe, paid a courtesy call to Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday to deliver a verbal invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the pope to visit Pyongyang.

Moon, who is Catholic himself, asked the pope if he can tell the North Korean leader to send an official delegate to invite the pope.

The pontiff reportedly said that the verbal invitation relayed by President Moon should be sufficient but that an official invitation would also be nice.

The pope said he will "certainly" respond if an official invitation arrives and that he can go. 

Moon’s press secretary Yoon Young-chan said the leader of the Catholic Church also expressed his strong support for the South Korean government’s efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The pope reportedly told Moon, “Move forward without stopping and do not be afraid."

The papal trip to North Korea, if realized, will be a significant turning point that will promote changes for the North to become a normal country.

The potential trip is also likely to provide fresh momentum for Moon’s pursuit of eased sanctions against Pyongyang to facilitate the North’s denuclearization.
 
After the meeting with the pontiff, Moon arrived in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day visit to hold summit meetings and attend the Asia Europe Meeting. 

On the sidelines of the multilateral forum, the president will hold bilateral summit talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday.

Moon is expected to work on ways to facilitate the North’s denuclearization and settle peace on the Korean Peninsula through the meetings with the European leaders.
Lee Bo-kyung, KBS World Radio News.