April 25, 2024
Opinion

Why U.S. moves to block NGO travel to N. Korea are counterproductive – and wrong

Humanitarian aid cannot be used as an arm of maximum pressure

Recent reports indicate the Department of State has rejected applications from American NGOs to visit North Korea in order to carry out humanitarian work there.

The requirement for explicit State Department approval for an American citizen to use a U.S. passport to travel to North Korea was initially imposed largely to discourage travel to the North because American citizens were being detained there.

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