South Korea's president has met with Pope Francis in a private audience, and his office says that the pontiff indicated his willingness to visit North Korea.
The South Korean presidential office said in a statement Thursday that President Moon Jae-in "conveyed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's desire for a papal visit to North Korea." A formal invitation directly from North Korea will follow.
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South Korea's president has met with Pope Francis in a private audience, and his office says that the pontiff indicated his willingness to visit North Korea.
Kim initially indicated his desire for a papal visit during a Korean summit last month.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, meet Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
RECROP - South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks between two Vatican Swiss Guards as he enters the building ahead of his private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center, and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, get into a car after their private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's wife Kim Jung-sook, center, walks past two Vatican Swiss Guards ahead of her husband's private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks between two Vatican Swiss Guards as he enters the building ahead of his private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, meet Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, listen to Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoANSA via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's delegation poses with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoANSA via AP)
The office said Francis said that "if the invitation comes, I will surely respond to it, and I can possibly go."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, pose with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoANSA via AP)
Kim initially indicated his desire for a papal visit during a Korean summit last month.
If it materializes, such a visit would be the first by a pope to North Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, talks with Pope Francis during their private audience, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, meet Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
RECROP - South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks between two Vatican Swiss Guards as he enters the building ahead of his private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center, and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, get into a car after their private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's wife Kim Jung-sook, center, walks past two Vatican Swiss Guards ahead of her husband's private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks between two Vatican Swiss Guards as he enters the building ahead of his private audience with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, meet Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoPool Photo via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, right, listen to Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoANSA via AP)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's delegation poses with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. South Korea's president is in Italy for a series of meetings that culminated with an audience with Pope Francis at which he's expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit. (Alessandro Di MeoANSA via AP)