President Lee Jae Myung has voiced hopes that the Vatican will play a role in improving inter-Korean relations. 

He shared the sentiment on Monday during a meeting with Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, South Korea’s first minister-level official at the Vatican. 

Mentioning the World Youth Day, a major Catholic youth event set to be held in Seoul in 2027, Lee said that he hopes Pope Leo XIV might consider visiting North Korea if he visits South Korea for the event.

The president also said he hopes for an opportunity to meet the Pontiff ahead of a potential 2027 visit.

Lee also thanked South Korea’s Catholic Church on behalf of the public, saying that it played a major role in restoring the country’s democracy. 

Cardinal You said that he had delivered a letter from Lee to the Pope, and that the Pope had expressed a willingness to invite the president to a visit to the Vatican.