Updated

Pope Francis has hailed a "two Koreas" summit this week on the Korean Peninsula as an opportunity to start dialogue, and urged those involved to "have the courage" to be "artisans of peace."

Francis at the Vatican Wednesday asked for prayers for "both those of the South and of the North" of Korea.

U.S.-allied South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet Friday in the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas, a summit that could lay the ground for U.S. President Donald Trump's planned meeting with the North Korean dictator.

Francis called the summit "a favorable occasion to start a transparent dialogue and a concrete route toward reconciliation and regained brotherhood with the aim of guaranteeing peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the entire world."