US extends ban on travel to North Korea for another year

The U.S. State Department building is seen in Washington, D.C., in this photo taken on April 22, 2025. Yonhap

SEOUL, May 16 (AJP) - The U.S. has extended its travel ban on North Korea for another year.

In a notice on the Federal Register on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State said, "All U.S. passports shall remain invalid for travel to, in, or through [North Korea] unless specially validated for such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State."

The department said it "has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of arrest and long-term detention constituting imminent danger to their physical safety."

The extension of the travel restriction to the reclusive country, which will now remain in effect until August next year, comes as the current ban is set to expire on Aug. 31.

The ban was first implemented in September 2017 following the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was imprisoned and tortured in North Korea in 2016 on an unclear charge of subversion. He died a year later after being released in a vegetative state.

The ban has been renewed annually since then.