The mere thought of North Korea’s homicidal dictator possessing a nuclear bomb is terrifying. But as long as world powers cling to their nuclear arsenals, the spread of these weapons is inevitable.

VATICAN CITY - The United States and North Korea must return to the negotiating table and focus on improving the quality of life of their people rather than on the might of their advanced weaponry, said a former Vatican diplomat.

-WASHINGTON – Maryknoll Father Gerard Hammond has been named the winner of the Gaudium et Spes Award from the Knights of Columbus for the 84-year-old priest's missionary work with tuberculosis patients in North Korea.

SEOUL, South Korea – The president of the Korean bishops' conference has welcomed President Moon Jae-in's peace initiative, saying it matches the church's views on how peace can be achieved on the peninsula.

VATICAN CITY – Celebrating a Mass in his native El Salvador, newly created Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez said his first major assignment will be to travel to South Korea for a meeting on how to achieve peace with North Korea.

VATICAN CITY – Two former Latin American presidents said the world is running out of time to find a solution to the crisis in Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro aims to consolidate power over the country.

SEOUL, South Korea – A peace treaty is needed to replace the 64-year truce between North Korea and South Korea, ending a situation where the two countries remain technically at war, speakers at a symposium organized by the South Korean bishops said.

WASHINGTON – Although the North Korean government is doing everything it can to suppress Christianity, the faith continues to spread, said a defector and missionary who called for prayers and action to increase religious freedom in the country.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM CAIRO – A diplomatic solution must be found to the escalating tension between North Korea and the United States, Pope Francis told journalists.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis and the Vatican are concerned about continuing tensions on the Korean peninsula "on account of the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea," the Vatican spokesman confirmed.

OXFORD, England - An international report has warned that Christians face worsening mistreatment worldwide and called for "urgent action" by Western governments and church leaders.

From imprisonment to torture to beheadings, more Christians worldwide live in fear for their lives than at any time in the modern era.

SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean cardinal prayed for reunification with the North so that, "through trust and reconciliation, may we become one big family again."

SEOUL, South Korea - Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, no Catholic priest has resided in the North of this divided peninsula, where autonomous religious activity is effectively forbidden. And no enemy of the communist regime there is more detested or fiercely denounced than the United States.

SEOUL, South Korea - Pope Francis told Korean Catholics that the reunification of their divided peninsula as well as the harmony of South Korean society depend on the practice of Gospel virtues, especially charity and forgiveness.