UNITED NATIONS - The 66th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday observed a minute's silence to mourn the death of Kim Jong-il, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).  

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, president of the 66th General Assembly session, asked the representatives of 193 UN member states attending a plenary session on economic and financial affairs to pay tribute to the late DPRK leader, who died on December 17.

The move was at the request of the DPRK, said the president.

Sin Son Ho, DPRK's permanent representative to the UN, was among the participants at the UNGA meeting, which started at around 3:19 pm EST (2019GMT) on Thursday.