South Korean diplomats in New York on Friday played down the political meaning of the United Nations' formal tribute to the dead leader of North Korea amid a controversy over whether it was appropriate.
Starting a Thursday session, the U.N. General Assembly had a brief moment of silence in memory of Kim Jong-il, who died of a heart attack last week. North Korean delegates requested it.
Representatives from South Korea, the U.S., Japan and many other nations walked out of the venue in protest of such a gesture for Kim, notorious for human rights abuses and nuclear weapons ambitions.
South Korean officials said they could not block the silence itself.
"It is an established practice for the U.N. General Assembly to pay tribute to the head of state of a member country who died in office," an official at the South Korean Mission to the U.N. said. "Such a request by a member nation is accepted 100 percent. The General Assembly can't reject it and there is no precedent."
U.N General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser from Qatar said the silence was a "protocol move."
"It is my sad duty to pay tribute to the memory of the late Kim Jong-il," he said.
Meanwhile, the 15-member U.N. Security Council refused to observe a minute of silence for Kim. Unlike the 193-state General Assembly, the Security Council needs unanimous consensus among its members for such an action. (NEW YORK=Yonhap)