Distinguishing between North Korea humanitarianism and human rights – Ep. 272

Improving the lives of the North Korean people and ensuring they can exercise universal rights and liberties are among the most important tasks for international actors working in and with the country. But digging beneath the surface quickly reveals that humanitarianism and human rights are different spheres with significantly different approaches to the problems facing the country. This week, Danielle Chubb and Nazanin Zadeh-Cumming join the NK News Podcast to discuss their recent paper exploring an area of common ground between the two camps — disability rights — and the potential for further meaningful change in this space. The two scholars also talk about how to overcome the politicization of engagement with Pyongyang, why North Korea rejects human rights as irrelevant and how the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report in 2014 led to positive changes. Danielle Chubb (@danielle_chb) is an associate professor of international relations at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia. Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings (@nzadehcummings) is the Associate Director of Research at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership and a senior lecturer in Humanitarian Studies at Deakin. The first 50 visitors can read Chubb and Zadeh-Cumming’s paper, “International engagement with North Korea: disability, human rights and humanitarian aid” for free at the following link: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DPABIWF6AZXPQWYYPABD/full?target=10.1080/01436597.2022.2141217 About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.