Pyongyang Expresses Condolences on Death of Yasser Arafat

Pyongyang Expresses Condolences on Death of Yasser Arafat

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died at age 75 on November 11 in Paris. He was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), head of the Palestine National Authority.

Arafat’s body will be taken from France to Cairo, where the Egyptian government will host a state funeral for him. He will be buried outside the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The DPRK sent a message of condolences to Rawhi Fatouh, speaker of the Legislative Council of the Palestinian National Authority, on the death of Arafat on November 11.

Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, said in his message that he expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family of Arafat and the Palestinian people.

“Yasser Arafat was a prominent politician who led the Palestinian revolution for nearly 40 years and an outstanding leader who made a distinguished contribution to the noble cause of establishing an independent state of Palestine and winning back the legitimate right of the Palestinian people,” the message said.

“He was a close friend of the Korean people as he made ceaseless efforts to develop the friendly and cooperative relations between the peoples of the DPRK and Palestine.” Though he passed away, “The noble exploits performed by him will always be remembered by the Palestinians and progressive people of the world,” Kim Yong Nam said.

He also expressed his “conviction that the Palestinian people will overcome the grief over the death of their leader and come out in firm unity in their dynamic struggle to build an independent state of Palestine.” Meanwhile, the government of the DPRK announced that it had decided to set a mourning period from November 15 to 17.

Yasser Arafat visited the DPRK six times from 1981 to 1993. He was awarded the Title of Hero of the DPRK during his first visit to the DPRK.

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