'Kim Jong

Pope Francis meets with Korean Ambassador to the Vatican Lee Baek-man in this October 2020 photo. Korea Times file

By Do Je-hae

Former Korean Ambassador to the Vatican Lee Baek-man has claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wanted a papal visit to his country following President Moon Jae-in's meeting with Pope Francis in October 2018.

In a recent contribution to a web magazine here, Lee recounted some incidents involving North Korean officials that indicated Pyongyang's intention to increase exchanges with the Roman Catholic Church.

In December 2018, a few weeks after Moon's meeting with the Pope during which an invitation to North Korea was mentioned, Kim Yong-nam, then the nominal head of state of North Korea, met with representatives of the Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic organization which has provided humanitarian aid to North Korea, during their visit to Pyongyang. During the visit, the delegation met officials at North Korea's foreign ministry, according to Lee.

The former envoy also said that he met with North Korean diplomats during a reception at a church in Rome in February 2019, underlining that it was extremely rare for officials from the North Korean Embassy to publicly appear at a religious event.

Cheong Wa Dae said at the time that Pope Francis responded favorably to the possibility of visiting the North during his audience with Moon at the Apostolic Palace. The Pope said, "If North Korea invites me, I will certainly respond to it, and I can possibly go," according to the presidential office.

A handout picture provided by Vatican Media shows Pope Francis waving from the window overlooking Saint Peter's Square during the Angelus Prayer at the Vatican, Sunday. EPA-Yonhap

But the focus on a papal visit to North Korea ended after the collapse of the Hanoi summit between then U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim in February 2019.

Lee claimed that there is still hope for rekindling the possibility for a papal visit to North Korea as a way to revive President Moon's efforts to achieve peace. "A papal visit to North Korea is not just a religious one. It will be a breakthrough for opening up North Korea," he wrote.

Lee also said that the forthcoming G20 summit in Rome later this year could include some important discussions on Korean Peninsula issues. "Pope Francis will meet the two key players on the Korean Peninsula ― President Moon and U.S. President Biden. The Pope will not pass by such a great opportunity. The Pope will consider it a blessing from God and there is a possibility that a good arbitration can be made through dialogue with the two leaders."