By Na Jeong-ju
Korea Times Correspondent

ROME ― Pope Benedict XVI will visit South Korea ``at an appropriate date'' to encourage Catholic churches and praise their efforts to protect the rights of the underprivileged, a presidential spokesman said Thursday.

During a courtesy call on the Pope in the Vatican, President Lee Myung-bak invited him to visit South Korea. The Pope accepted the invitation, saying he will visit Seoul at an appropriate time, the spokesman said.

If the visit is made, Pope Benedict will become the second pope to visit South Korea. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, visited Seoul in 1984 and in 1989.

Lee arrived in Rome Wednesday to participate in the extended G8 summit, which is underway in the mountain city of L'Aquila. He became the third South Korean president to meet a pope in the Vatican after former Presidents Kim Dae-jung in 2002 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007.

Lee and Pope Benedict discussed a wide range of issues, including human rights conditions in North Korea and the North's nuclear threats, according to the spokesman.

Lee thanked the Pope for his efforts to promote peace and human rights in the world. Pope Benedict said the international community must strengthen humanitarian efforts to fight poverty and food crises.

The President also thanked him for sending a delegation to Seoul to offer a mass during the funeral of Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan, the country's first cardinal who passed away in February.

Lee called for special attention from the Roman Catholic Church to 125 martyrs who were killed in the early 1800s in Korea just because they were Catholics. Lee asked the church to give them the status of ``saints,'' the spokesman said.

Lee also met with Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone to discuss the geopolitical situation on the Korean Peninsula and poverty in North Korea.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr