Pope Francis speaks as he leads the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis called for “transparent dialogue” between the two Koreas on Wednesday, urging leaders at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade to act with courage to foster regional and world peace.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to meet in the border village of Panmunjom on Friday.

“This encounter can be a propitious occasion to start a transparent dialogue and a concrete path to reconciliation and renewed fraternity aimed at guaranteeing peace on the Korean peninsula and in the whole world,” the pope said at his weekly general audience before tens of thousands of people.

Francis, who visited South Korea in 2014, urged the leaders to have “the courage of hope, thus becoming artisans of peace”.

Previous summits between the two sides were held in 2000 and 2007.