"After nearly 4 million people were killed, mostly Korean civilians, fighting was halted when North Korea, China, and the United States representing the UN Command signed a ceasefire agreement. They promised within three months to sign a peace treaty; over 60 years later, we’re still waiting," write the organizers of the march on their webpage.
As well as crossing the DMZ, the four kilometer wide, 250 kilometer long and buffer zone between the two countries along the most militarized border in the world, the organizers intend to hold peace symposiums in Pyongyang and Seoul, where they say they will share experiences and ideas for mobilizing women to bring an end to the Korean conflict; the May 24 crossing is to coincide with International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament.
3k + North Korean women joining us now for first part of walk before tomorrow's DMZ crossing #womencrossdmz2015 pic.twitter.com/BHKpXP5YnI
— Coleen Baik (@colbay) 22 мая 2015
On April 3 Pyongyang gave permission to the activists to march across its territory, after which Seoul said it would "'render necessary cooperation' once the official endorsement from responsible and relevant North Korean authorities is confirmed," reported the activists in a May 15 press release.
Earlier this month, the South Korean authorities stated that although Seoul had decided to allow the activists to cross the DMZ, "the government plans to recommend [that they] use the western corridor along the Gyeongui railway, [instead of the truce village of Panmunjom]."
Panmunjom, an abandoned village in the DMZ between the two countries where the activists had planned to make the crossing, was the site of the Korean War armistice talks from 1951 to 1953.
"I know that thousands of South Korean women have prepared for months to receive us on the other side of Panmunjom,” said activist Gloria Steinem, 81, who is taking part in the march. "I hope the South Korean government will honor their hard work and allow us to cross at Panmunjom."
Grateful for Dmz crossing by ROK but still hope intl women can cross at Panmunjom, https://t.co/cSgCAWZUP2
— Christine Ahn (@christineahn) 15 мая 2015
Korean-American activist Christine Ahn is one of the organizers of the march.
Joining Steinem are peace activists from 15 countries, whose "goal is to draw global attention to the urgent need to end the Korean War by replacing the ceasefire with a peace treaty, to help reunite families separated by the DMZ, and to ensure that women are involved at all levels of the peacebuilding process."
