The U.S. government has extended its ban on travel to North Korea for another year, marking the policy’s ninth consecutive renewal, according to a Radio Free Asia (RFA) report on May 16.
The U.S. Department of State recently announced in the Federal Register that the travel restriction, originally set to expire on August 31, would be extended through at least the same date in 2025.
This policy prohibits U.S. passport holders from entering or transiting through North Korea without special authorization. The State Department explained that the extension was due to the continued serious risk of arbitrary arrest and long-term detention of American citizens in the country.
The travel ban was first enacted in 2017 following the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in North Korea, returned to the U.S. in a coma, and passed away shortly after. The restriction has been renewed annually since.