North Korea–Palestine relations
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) refers to the bilateral relations between North Korea and
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. North Korea has long regarded Israel as an "imperialist satellite" and recognizes the sovereignty of Palestine over all territory held by Israel, excluding the Golan Heights, conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981, which is considered as Syrian territory by the international community, North Korea included.


History

North Korea's relations with the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
began in 1966. Kim Il-sung and Yasser Arafat had a very close relationship and North Korea provided aid to the Palestinians. North Korean support for the PLO began in the 1970s and included the supply of small amounts of arms and military aid. North Korean arms in the Middle East included aid to several leftist factions and revolutionary movements such as the PLO and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. North Korean arms and aid to Palestinian factions continued until the opening up of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
under Deng Xiaoping and political reforms in the Soviet Union under
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
during the 1980s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, North Korean involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict declined and North Korea shifted from the exporting of revolution to pragmatism. Since then North Korea has continued to support the Palestinian cause and has strongly condemned every Israeli action in the region. During the Gaza War (2008–09), North Korea harshly condemned Israeli actions. A Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced the killing of unarmed civilians and called it a crime against humanity as well as a threat to the Middle East Peace Process. On the floor of the UN General Assembly the North Korean permanent representative
Sin Son-ho Sin Son-ho ( ko, 신선호; ; born July 5, 1948) is a North Korean diplomat who has been North Korea's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2008 to February 2014, until he was replaced by Ja Song-nam.
said that North Korea "fully supported Palestinians’ struggle to expel Israeli aggressors from their territory and restore their right to self-determination." After the 2010
Gaza flotilla raid The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...
the North Korean Foreign Ministry called the attack a "crime against humanity" which was perpetrated under the guidance of the United States. The North Korean statement also expressed full support for the self-determination of the Palestinian Arabs. During the
2014 Israel–Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories, Pale ...
, on 15 July, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement that read: "We bitterly denounce Israel's brutal killings of many defenseless Palestinians through indiscriminate military attacks on peaceable residential areas in Palestine as they are unpardonable crimes against humanity."


See also

* North Korea–Israel relations * Foreign relations of North Korea *
Foreign relations of Palestine The foreign relations of the State of Palestine have been conducted since the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. In November 1988, the PLO's Palestinian National Council declared the independence of the S ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Korea-Palestine Relations
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
Bilateral relations of the State of Palestine State of Palestine–North Korea relations