Even though Pope Francis capped his five-day visit to South Korea with prayers for peace and reconciliation on the divided peninsula, North Korea launched rockets on Thursday as a reminder of one of the world's intractable diplomatic situations.

At Monday's Mass in Seoul's Myeongdong Cathedral, the Pope called for the two Koreas to work together. The Pope's remarks follow a speech on Sunday in which he expressed hope that the Vatican could establish ties with Asian countries with whom it has no relations such as China and North Korea.

However, experts on North Korea say the chance of Pyongyang’s acceptance are slim, since North Korea authorities regard Christianity as a direct threat to its leadership and its de-facto ban on any organized religious activity independent of the state.

A United Nation commission of inquiry report on North Korea, based on testimonies from defectors, said there is an almost complete denial of the right to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion there. North Korea has rejected report.

Pyongyang’s policy on religion goes back to the division of the Korean peninsula when many clerics were arrested by the government. Francis Hong Yong-ho, the sixth Bishop of Pyongyang and the last to serve there, disappeared in 1949.

Today, there are no known Catholic priests or Vatican-recognized churches in North Korea, according to Father Gerard Hammond. South Korea's Unification Ministry declined to comment on the number or status of Catholics in North Korea.

The U.N says practicing Christianity outside state-controlled churches is subject to severe punishment.

SOURCE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL