North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un would like Pope Francis to visit the country, according to a report from a statement released by South Korea's presidential office.
Kim Jong Un reportedly extended the invitation during his meeting with the South Korean President Moon Jae In last September.
The Pope would be welcomed "enthusiastically" in North Korea, Kim Jong Un reportedly said, despite the country being an atheist nation.
'Chairman Kim said he will "ardently welcome the Pope if he visits Pyongyang," Kim Eui Kyeom, spokesperson for the South Korean president told reporters last month.
President Moon reportedly was expected to pass on the invitation to Pope Francis when he met him at the Vatican during his Europe trip last month.
Pope Francis, on the other hand, will seriously consider making a visit to North Korea but some conditions should be met, a senior Vatican official confirmed in a report.
"The pope expressed his willingness. We have to wait for it [the invitation] to be formalized," Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. "This will come later, once we start thinking in earnest about the possibility of making this trip, then we will have to think about conditions in which the trip can take place."
North Korea is considered to be one of the worst countries in the world known for persecuting Christians. According to some reports, Christians in the country faced torture in prison and hard labor camps for their faith.
