News In Brief
| Seoul
Pope, starting Asia visit, appeals for human rights
Pope John Paul II began the first papal visit to South Korea Thursday with an appeal for greater human rights. The Pontiff also called for reconciliation between North and South Korea.
''I pray that your beloved fatherland, now tragically divided in two for over a generation, will be reunited in one family, not through confrontation and hostility, but through dialogue, mutual trust, and brotherly love,'' he said.
At Sungkyunkwan University, about 500 students hurled stones at riot police who fired tear gas at them. The students were protesting alleged suppression of civil rights by President Chun Doo Hwan. The protest occurred 500 yards from a seminary the Pope was visiting.
The Pope is spending four days in South Korea to mark the 200th anniversary of the Roman Catholic Church here.
