Friday, August 23, 2024 North Korea is once again opening its borders to international tourism, signaling a potential revival of its tightly controlled tourism industry. However, despite this development, U.S.
citizens remain prohibited from visiting the country due to ongoing restrictions enforced by the U.S. government.
The U.S. State Department has maintained a firm prohibition on the use of U.
S. passports for travel to, from, or through North Korea. This restriction, which has been in place since 2017, is grounded in the belief that there is a “continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.
S. nationals” who enter the country. The State Department’s concerns are not without precedent, as the tragic case of Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American student, underscores the dangers associated with travel to North Korea.
Otto Warmbier was detained in North Korea in January 2016 on charges of committing a “hostile act” against the state for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. After a secretive trial, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. More than a year later, Warmbier was returned to the United States in June 2017 in a comatose state, having suffered severe brain damage during his detention.
He died just days after his return, leading to widespread outrage and condemnation of North Korea’s human rights practices. In response to this incident and the broader concerns about the safety of U.S.
citizens, the U.S. government swiftly i.