"The pope's possible visit to North Korea indicates the international community's support for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Hong Young-pyo, the DP's floor leader, said at a meeting with senior party members.

"If realized, his trip will be momentum to induce the North toward the path to denuclearization," he said. "We need a flexible approach to elicit (Pyongyang's) denuclearization."

The North's leader expressed his willingness to invite the pope to his country during his third and latest summit with Moon in Pyongyang last month, according to Moon's office.

No pope has ever visited North Korea.

Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae expects that a papal visit could help expedite the process to bring peace to the divided peninsula, the world's last remaining vestige of the Cold War.

For North Korea, the pope's visit can help its efforts to become a normal state and improve ties with the US. (Yonhap)