WomenCrossDMZ peace activists were taken on a “boilerplate” propaganda march of Pyongyang by a body well-known for cultivating relations with North Korea sympathizer groups, observers said Tuesday.

Instead of being an example of “citizen-to-citizen diplomacy,” the North Korean hosts of the WomenCrossDMZ delegation would have facilitated it “for domestic propaganda reasons,” said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S. Korea-Institute in Washington, D.C.

“The Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, or ‘Taemun’ as it is known in the DPRK, is the group that ran (Christine) Ahn’s ’march’ and they are the same people that handle Alejandro (Cao de Benos) and manage his programs,” Melvin said.

Cao de Benos is the controversial founder of the Korea Friendship Association (KFA), a group known for sycophantic views of the DPRK leadership that conducts regular propaganda tours of North Korea with the CCRFC.

“This kind of program has been going on for decades,” said Melvin. “Nothing special about this one except the ‘caliber’ of participants is much higher than Alejandro could ever manage.”

WomenCrossDMZ organizer Christine Ahn did not respond to an NK News request for confirmation that her group was hosted by the CCRFC, but Melvin said it was evident due to the “identical” nature of the events the women participated in and those he took part in during CCRFC tours in 2004 and 2005.

Furthermore, in official North Korean news outlets acknowledged the participation in the events of Kim Jong Suk, chairwoman of the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World People and chairwoman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.

A second source, who wished to remain anonymous due to previous work with the CCRFC, confirmed Melvin’s claims.

“Your colleague’s assessment is really spot-on, word for word,” the source said. “For instance, they organized an identical ‘peace march’ in connection with the 60 year ‘victory’ celebrations in 2013 (and) they might have even have recycled the banners and brass bands.”

Despite the “boilerplate” nature of the WomenCrossDMZ’s activities inside North Korea, one member of the delegation claimed on Sunday at the post-crossing press conference that the group’s goals had been achieved.

“The first thing we hoped to accomplish (in this trip) was to go through a process of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy,” Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee told assembled reporters after arriving in South Korean territory.

“That was possible, we met women, we had conversations, we interacted with them, we were able to observe the life of women in North Korea.”

Melvin said that he also had similar experiences interacting with Koreans during the marches he attended in 2004 and 2005, but generally these interactions took place in the context of a specific subject (grievances with the U.S. or South Korea), or were conducted in public or through a translator.

Each of these situations limits the kind of interactions foreigners can experience with ordinary North Korean people, he said. He noted that although foreigners may feel free to express their opinions to North Koreans, this is not the case for the Koreans they are meeting.

Hence, in Melvin’s view, “citizen-to-citizen” diplomacy isn’t currently possible.

Main picture: Uriminzokkiri

WomenCrossDMZ peace activists were taken on a “boilerplate” propaganda march of Pyongyang by a body well-known for cultivating relations with North Korea sympathizer groups, observers said Tuesday. Instead of being an example of “citizen-to-citizen diplomacy,” the North Korean hosts of the WomenCrossDMZ delegation would have facilitated it “for domestic propaganda reasons,” said Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the U.S. Korea-Institute in Washington, D.C.