March 29, 2024
Opinion

When ‘human rights’ hurts North Koreans: A defense of WomenCross

Critics of inter-Korean peace march ignore militarization as driving force behind regime’s abuses

On May 24, 30 feminist peace activists with truly remarkable peace-building qualifications crossed the heavily fortified inter-Korean border in protest of the state of war. Christine Ahn, co-organizer of WomenCross DMZ (WC), stresses their “enormous collective experience in conflict resolution, human rights, foreign policy, international relations and de-militarization.” Many notable dignitaries of peace endorse WC.

Western news coverage has nevertheless been “extremely critical,” as Daniel Pinkston wrote in Politico. Notable examples include Craig Urquhart’s two long NK News articles (here and here), which expand upon the criticisms levied by two Foreign Policy pieces (here and here) co-authored by Thor Halvorssen and Alex Gladstein.

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