President Lee Jae Myung (center) enters the Apostolic Palace for talks with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung on Monday met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, on the second leg of his Europe visit. He was scheduled to depart for France later in the day, where he will attend the G7 meeting.After his audience with the pope, Lee was to subsequently meet Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.Lee held his first talks with the pope since his inauguration in June 2025. The last meeting between a South Korean president and the pope was when President Moon Jae-in met later Pope Francis in October 2021.The pope is expected to travel to Seoul to attend World Youth Day, a global gathering of young Catholics, in August 2027.Speculation has already started in Korea that the pope could meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of his visit to the peninsula, which remains technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, in line with the Lee administration's pursuit of a thaw in inter-Korean relations.Lee has sought to reverse course after the inter-Korean relationship soured during the term of his disgraced predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol.Should Leo land in North Korea, he would be the first pope to do so. Despite Moon's requests for Pope Francis to visit Pyongyang, tentative plans in 2018 and 2021 did not materialize.Lee's visit to Vatican City came on the occasion of his state visit to Italy, which started Wednesday.At a special Mass on Sunday in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which is owned by the Holy See and located in Rome, Lee thanked the Holy See for "unwavering support and continued attention" to the road to lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."Together with all who share this vision, we will strive to transcend borders and ideologies, race and culture. ... We will fulfill our shared responsibility to leave peace as a common inheritance to all humanity," Lee said in his speech Sunday."I sincerely hope that we can create a virtuous cycle in which peace on the Korean Peninsula leads to peace in the world, and the solidarity of the world, in turn, helps secure peace on the Korean Peninsula."In a separate event, Lee reiterated his commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula.In remarks to mark the 26th anniversary of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration, Lee pledged continued efforts to engage North Korea, saying peaceful coexistence was the only path to mutual prosperity.The remarks, read by presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, were delivered at an event marking the anniversary in Seoul.The declaration was adopted by the two Koreas in 2000, after summit talks between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korea's Kim Jong-il.According to Cheong Wa Dae, Lee presented Leo with a sculpture of a child being embraced, inspired by the Parable of the Prodigal Son as told by Jesus in the Bible, to symbolize forgiveness, reconciliation and the restoration of community.A traditional Korean white porcelain container with a lid was also given to Leo. Lee's gifts to Parolin were cases with floral designs and a wellness supplement product made of red ginseng extract.