Lee to meet Pope Leo XIV on Monday, may request papal visit to North Korea

President Lee Jae Myung, on an official visit to the Vatican, is set to meet Pope Leo XIV on Monday local time.

The audience marks the first visit by a South Korean president to the Holy See since Pope Leo XIV's enthronement, and the first papal meeting by a South Korean head of state in roughly five years — since then-President Moon Jae-in met the late Pope Francis in October 2021.

President Lee is expected to deliver a message of peace on the Korean Peninsula during the meeting. Attention is focused in particular on whether he will ask Pope Leo XIV to visit North Korea, with observers noting that a religiously framed appeal could help break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations.

Former President Moon similarly asked Pope Francis to visit North Korea during their 2021 meeting, saying such a visit would serve as a momentum for peace on the peninsula.

Wi Sung-lac, chief of the presidential National Security Office, said the meeting would be "an opportunity to reaffirm the Holy See's continued support and attention to peace on the Korean Peninsula."

On Sunday, President Lee attended a special mass for "Peace and Solidarity" at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, presided over by Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy. "I pray that the prayers we offer together today, on June 15, will become blessed seeds of peace and solidarity for the whole world," Lee said.

Reflecting on the 2000 inter-Korean summit between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Lee said: "Twenty-six years ago, on June 15, the South and the North sat face to face for the first time since the division and issued the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration. It was a historic turning point that showed the world the possibility of dialogue and cooperation beyond long-standing hostility and tension."

He said he remained convinced that "the flame of that hope is still alive today," adding that he intended "to do everything possible to build a sustainable peace regime."

Some observers are also watching the 2027 World Youth Day, scheduled to be held in Seoul next year with Pope Leo XIV expected to attend, as a potential opening for a papal visit to North Korea. President Lee said in that context that he hoped "young people from around the world will be able to come together, transcending the barriers of front lines, barbed wire and borders."

Following his private audience with Pope Leo XIV, President Lee is also scheduled to meet Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.