Beijing, Jun 20: The China-based travel agency on Tuesday said that it would no longer take US citizens to North Korea after an American college student died after being released in a coma from North Korean detention.

The travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, specializes in North Korea tours and is based in the central Chinese city of Xi'an.

The agency on its Facebook page said that the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea "has become too high."

The tour operator said that it was denied any opportunity to meet with Warmbier after his detention, and that the way it was handled was "appalling." The travel agency specializes in North Korea tours and is based in the central Chinese city of Xi'an.

A US Student Otto Warmbier died in Ohio on Monday , days after being released by North Korea. An economics student from the University of Virginia, he was travelling in North Korea as a tourist when he was arrested on 2 January 2016. </s> Young Pioneer Tours, a travel operation that brings Western communist sympathizers into North Korea, Cuba, and other danger zones, announced Tuesday it will no longer accept Americans on its trips to North Korea following the death of Otto Warmbier.

Warmbier, 22, died Monday following his release from North Korean custody last week. He had traveled to Pyongyang with Young Pioneer Tours and stood accused of attempting to steal a communist propaganda poster from his hotel.

In a March 2016 hostage video, Warmbier “confessed” to the crime and claimed that the U.S. government had bribed him to tamper with the poster. In that confession, he also thanked North Korea for its “humanitarian” treatment of a “severe criminal” like him.

In a blog post on its website, Young Pioneer Tours announced, “We will no longer be organising tours for US citizens to North Korea.”

“The devastating loss of Otto Warmbier’s life has led us to reconsider our position on accepting American tourists. There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result,” the statement reads.

“Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high.”

While the group condemns the “way” that North Korea handled the detention as “appalling” and a “tragedy,” it does not condemn the North Korean regime for arresting Warmbier in the first place or for its record of detaining Americans to be used as diplomatic bargaining chips.

The company also claims that it made “constant requests” to North Korean officials for information on Warmbier but was told only that “he was fine.”

Warmbier arrived in the United States last week with “extensive brain damage” according to American doctors that cared for him in Ohio before his death. North Korean officials claimed that he had been in a coma for about a year after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill, but American doctors said they saw no evidence of botulism.

Warmbier’s father, Fred, attacked Young Pioneer Tours and its ilk in the press conference he hosted last week, following Otto Warmbier’s return to Ohio.

“The North Koreans lure Americans to travel to North Korea via tour groups, run out of China, who advertise slick ads on the internet proclaiming, ‘No American ever gets detained on our tours’ and ‘This is a safe place to go,’” he explained.

At the time, the New York Times reported, the Young Pioneers website read that being American was “not at all” a problem in traveling to North Korea, despite U.S. State Department warnings against such travel. Since the change in policy this morning, the site notes that it will not accept American travelers on its North Korea trips.

Other than that minor change, the group’s misleading portrayal of North Korea, clearly designed to appeal to impressionable youth, remains on the site.

“Despite what you may hear, for most nationalities, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit provided you follow the laws as provided by our documentation and pre-tour briefings,” the website claims.

It applauds North Korea’s not allowing foreigners to go anywhere in the country without a communist chaperone because it “adds to the mysticism of the country.” It warns tourists not to speak too much during the trip: “If you’re quiet and listen you’ll be surprised just how much you can learn.”

Young Pioneers also still boasts “budget tours to destinations your mother wants you to stay away from” and a blog replete with praise for a dizzying array of oppressive regimes ranging from Cuba (“We’re taking you to Cuba this December for our annual Che Guevara Revolutionary Tour!”) to Myanmar (“One of the most special and unique travel experiences, due to its stunning geography, rich and varied culture and warm, proud people”), and China (“Once in a lifetime Maoist adventure”).

Young Pioneers, named after the communist equivalent to the Hitler Youth, calls itself “a company that craves communist kitsch.” Its founder, British ex-pat Gareth Johnson, writes in his biography that his “new-found love for the people and culture of the DPRK” led him to establish the group and praises North Korea’s “great, plentiful, and cheap!” seafood. At least one American, Amanda Moore, is listed as an official in the company.

While the company is in the public eye for leading Warmbier to his death, Young Pioneers is not the only group preying on the curiosity of young Westerners with North Korea trips.

One tour group, the Koryo Group, also claims on its website that North Korea is “probably one of the safest countries in the world for a tourist.” New Korea Tours promises “a tour of communism which starts with the 1950’s reconstruction. … Every tourist who has traveled with us has said it has been one of the highlights in their world travels.” </s> The Chinese travel agency that organized Otto Warmbier’s trip to North Korea has announced it will no longer accept Americans for tours. It comes following the American student’s death after his release from 17 months’ detention in North Korea.

Young Pioneer Tours adventure travel company, based in China, reconsidered its position on taking US citizens on tours to North Korea and will no longer organize their trips to the country, according to the agency’s statement published on Tuesday.

“Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high,” the agency wrote on Facebook, following “the devastating loss of Otto Warmbier's life.” The company also noted that no previous detainment of a tourist in North Korea “has ended with such tragic finality” and emphasized this must not be repeated.

READ MORE: Comatose US student released by North Korea dies in hospital

University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier passed away on Monday after he returned to his home country with severe neurological trauma, following a long-term coma. During his detention in North Korea there had been no information about his condition, the travel agency said.

“Despite constant requests, we were denied any opportunity to meet him or anyone in contact with him in Pyongyang, only receiving assurances that he was fine,” Young Pioneer Tours wrote. “There has still been almost no information disclosed about his period in detention,” the statement adds.

Warmbier went to North Korea for a five-day trip in January 2016. During the visit, he was arrested on charges that he had stolen a political banner and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. He was released and medically evacuated to the US on June 13, due to his serious health condition.

Two more American citizens are currently in North Korean prisons. In April, North Korean officials detained Kim Sang Dok, a US accounting professor, over charges of “criminal acts of hostility” targeting the North Korean government.

A South Korea-born businessman and naturalized United States citizen, Kim Tong Chul, was arrested in October 2015 and was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor on charges of espionage and subversion.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have increased in recent months. While North Korea has stepped up missile tests, the US has boosted its military presence on the Korean Peninsula. The US has conducted a series of military drills with North Korea’s neighbors, Japan and South Korea.

READ MORE: US lawmakers propose total tourist travel ban to North Korea amid rising tensions

The escalation of tensions has caused growing concern from Russia and China, who both have a border with North Korea, and are urging all parties not to escalate the situation further. </s> A tour agency that took Otto Warmbier into North Korea before he was detained for 18 months has said it will stop taking Americans into the reclusive state.

Mr Warmbier, a student from the United States, died on Monday after he was repatriated back to his family in Ohio suffering from severe brain damage.

Young Pioneer Tours, an agency operated largely by expats in the north Chinese city of Xi’an, had previously described North Korea as "probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit.” </s> WASHINGTON : The United States confirmed Friday that it plans to ban its nationals from traveling to North Korea, in the wake of the death of an American student who was imprisoned by Pyongyang during a tourist visit.

Travel agencies organizing trips to the isolated country had said earlier Friday they were informed of the impending change.

Strict warnings against travel to North Korea had already been in place, but Washington toughened its stance after the death in June of Otto Warmbier.

The 22-year-old University of Virginia student was imprisoned for more than a year on charges of stealing a propaganda poster from a North Korean hotel - and sent home in a mysterious coma that proved fatal.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the new restriction would be formally published in the government’s Federal Register next week, and take effect one month later.

“Due to mounting concerns over the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement, the secretary has authorized a Geographical Travel Restriction on all US citizen nationals’ use of a passport to travel in, through, or to North Korea,” Nauert said.

“Once in effect, US passports will be invalid for travel to, through and in North Korea,” she said.

Those seeking authorization for travel for “certain limited humanitarian or other purposes” would only be able to do so with a “special validation passport,” the spokeswoman added.

“The safety and security of US citizens overseas is one of our highest priorities.”

After Warmbier’s death, President Donald Trump said he was determined to “prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency.”

China-based Young Pioneer Tours, which had taken Warmbier to North Korea, and Koryo Tours said the ban will be published on July 27 - the anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

“We have just been informed that the US government will no longer be allowing US citizens to travel to the DPRK (North Korea),” Young Pioneer Tours said on its website.

Young Pioneer Tours had already said it would no longer take Americans to North Korea in the wake of Warmbier’s death.

Koryo Tours general manager Simon Cockerell told AFP that his company had been notified by the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which usually acts on behalf of the United States in North Korea since Washington has no diplomatic ties with the isolated regime.

The official announcement “will basically end American tourism” in North Korea, said Cockerell, whose company currently takes between 300-400 Americans to the country each year.

While the decision will be bad for business, he said he sees it as more damaging to “North Koreans who are interested in having a balanced portrayal of what Americans are really like.”

Legislation was introduced in the US House of Representatives in May that would have forbidden Americans from traveling to North Korea. That measure is still pending.

It cited the risk of their use as “bargaining chips in negotiations over a variety of issues,” including Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

California Democrat Adam Schiff, who introduced the bill, welcomed the State Department’s move, saying in the wake of Warmbier’s death, “limiting US travel is unfortunately sensible and necessary.”

Travellers wanting to visit the North must go with a tour company. They are required to fly to Pyongyang from Beijing, while other nationalities are allowed to go by train.

But the US State Department has strongly warned US citizens against travelling there.

Warmbier’s death added to already high tensions in the region over North Korea’s weapons ambitions, culminating in the country’s successful test launch earlier this month of an intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say could reach Alaska.

North Korea has accused the United States of waging a “smear campaign” and denied that Warmbier was tortured or abused.

At least three Americans remain in North Korean custody: two professors, Kim Hak-Song and Kim Sang-Duk (or Tony Kim), who were both working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST); and Korean-American Kim Dong-Chul, who was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for spying. </s> It was supposed to be sassy, hinting at danger while assuring security. Though the promise of Young Pioneer Tours to offer “budget travel to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from” today appears crass in the extreme.

The death on Monday of Otto Warmbier, who was detained in Pyongyang 17 months ago while on a group tour organized by Young Pioneer, has once again laid bare the dangers of voluntarily relinquishing your liberty — even temporarily — to a tyrannical regime with no diplomatic ties to Washington. And it has augmented existing calls for a blanket travel ban on U.S. citizens visiting the regime of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, which still has three Americans — Kim Dong-chul, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Hak-song — in detention.

“Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency,” said President Donald Trump in a statement . “The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.”

Warmbier, 22, had been serving a 15-year prison sentence with hard labor following his arrest on Jan. 2, 2016, for allegedly trying to steal a propaganda poster from a hotel in Pyongyang — deemed "a hostile act." North Korean officials said he fell into a coma soon after his conviction upon being given a sleeping pill after contracting botulism, a potentially fatal bacterial illness. He was finally returned to the U.S. last week; however, American doctors said he suffered "severe injury to all regions of the brain." Warmbier’s family said in a statement Monday that his condition was due to “awful torturous mistreatment” during detention.

“There is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret and denied him top notch medical care for so long,” Warmbier’s father, Fred, told a press conference.

Read More: Why Otto Warmbier Was Released From North Korea

Warmbier’s treatment and death has served as a wake-up call to both those who join and organize tours to North Korea. In an emotional statement, Young Pioneers Tours said : “The way his detention was handled was appalling, and a tragedy like this must never be repeated … Considering these facts and this tragic outcome we will no longer be organizing tours for U.S. citizens to North Korea.” Uri Tours, a U.S.-based tour company also offering trips to North Korea, said it was “reviewing its position on [North Korea] travel for American citizens.”

They may not have a choice. Although the State Department already warns in strong terms against North Korean travel, last month Republican and Democratic U.S. congressmen introduced a bill that would ban American tourists from traveling to North Korea as tourists and require special permission for other visits, citing at least 17 Americans detained by the regime over the last decade. “With increased tensions in North Korea, the danger that Americans will be detained for political reasons is greater than ever,” Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Joe Wilson said in a statement.

Since taking office, Trump has turned the screws on the Kim regime, persuading China — the source of nearly all North Korean trade — to cut off revenue and in April dispatching the Carl Vinson U.S. Navy strike group to the Korean peninsular in a show of force. Trump has warned of a “major, major conflict” with North Korea should it continue its nuclear program. The regime has conducted five nuclear tests to date and 16 missile tests this year alone.

Amid the heightening tensions, there was clearly a political aspect to Otto’s continued detention, as the regime has previously managed to wrangle visits from top U.S. figures — most recently former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter — to secure the release of Americans detained. The Obama administration’s tactic of “strategic patience” — refusing to engage with the regime while squeezing it financially through sanctions — has by and large been kept in place by Trump, despite his administration's declaration that it would break with the policy. This meant no diplomatic thawing was on the cards for Warmbier; that is, until diplomats finally learned about his failing health.

Speaking to journalists upon his son’s return, Fred Warmbier thanked the Trump administration and laid blame on the Obama White House for not doing enough to secure his son’s freedom.

“Earlier this year Cindy and I decided the time for ‘strategic patience’ was over,” he said, praising new State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun, who traveled to Pyongyang June 12 to secure Warmbier’s release, for his “aggressively pursued resolution of the situation.” Asked whether the Obama administration could have done more, Fred Warmbier replied, “I think the results speak for themselves.”

The fact remains that Warmbier may still be alive today if, as may now happen, Americans had been prohibited from traveling to North Korea. But it is also true that stronger diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang would have aided in securing an earlier release.

“It’s just very sad,” says Prof. Stephan Haggard, a Korea expert at UCLA San Diego. “One channel is to shut down the tourism. But I’m not sure it will have much effect in terms of the larger strategy.”

Read More: Moon Jae In, the Man Who Wants to Negotiate With North Korea

Other than implementing a travel ban, which would close off a not insignificant income stream for Pyongyang, it’s unclear what more the U.S. could do to gain some sense of justice for the Warmbier family. North Korea is already one the world’s most heavily sanctioned countries, and any new economic measures would be symbolic rather than substantive. A more fitting tribute would be to secure the release of the three other Americans held by the regime before a similar tragedy befalls them, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanded in a statement Monday.

Washington could impose secondary sanctions on individuals and companies organizing tours to North Korea, many of which are based in China, the U.K. and U.S., though that would be a legal minefield. Such a move would also contradict recent developments indicating a move toward engagement with the North, especially after last month's election of liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

“What can the U.S. and its allies do after Otto’s death?” asked one top Korea-watcher, who requested anonymity out of respect for the Warmbier family. “The brutal reality is nothing.” </s> WASHINGTON — American citizens are expected to be banned soon from traveling to North Korea, travel agencies said Friday, a move confirmed by one U.S. official.

It was not immediately clear whether there would be exemptions to the travel restrictions.

This comes a month after the death of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who passed away after falling into a coma while imprisoned in North Korea.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson previously floated the idea of travel restrictions to the reclusive nation during testimony last month before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"We have been evaluating whether we should put some type of travel visa restriction to North Korea," Tillerson told the committee. "We've not come to a final conclusion, but we are considering it."

Warmbier died on June 19, less than a week after he returned to America following more than a year in custody for trying to steal a North Korea propaganda banner from his Pyongyang hotel. Warmbier, whose cause of death remains unclear, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor and was sent home after 17 months.

A day after Warmbier's death, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said "we are contemplating" further travel restrictions.

The group that arranged Warmbier's visit, Young Pioneer Tours, said they would no longer bring Americans to North Korea because the risk "has become too high."

On Friday, Young Pioneer Tours wrote on its website that, "We have just been informed that the U.S. government will no longer be allowing U.S. citizens to travel to the DPRK (North Korea). It is expected that the ban will come into force within 30 days of July 27."

Another tour group, Koryo Tours, also said in a statement that the U.S. government will introduce a travel ban that will take effect in late August. "This news has been expected but nevertheless is something of a shock, and we're sorry for anyone who had planned a trip or who had hoped to visit and who now will not be permitted to do so," the group said on its website.

Related: North Korea Crisis: How Events Have Unfolded Under Trump

The secretary of state has discretion to impose travel restrictions on specific countries if one of the three following conditions exist: the country is at war with the United States; armed conflict exists within the country; or an American traveler faces imminent danger in the country.

The ban would be implemented through what is known as a Geographic Travel Restriction making all U.S. passports invalid for travel in, or through, a specific country. There are currently no such restrictions in place.

The use of such restrictions dates back to the Civil war but more recently were imposed for Iran (1980-1981), Lebanon (1987-1997), Iraq (1991-2003), Libya (1981-2004) and Cuba (1963-1977). It has been rare that individuals violating such a restriction have been prosecuted. </s> Washington, D.C.- North Korea has released Otto Warmbier, the American student serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged subversion, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was convicted in March 2016 of attempting to steal a propaganda banner from a restricted area of his hotel at the request of an acquaintance.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor after a tearful one-hour trial.

In a statement, the State Department said Warmbier was “en route to the U.S. where he will be reunited with his family,” adding it would have no further comment on his case, citing privacy concerns.

It said the department “continues to have discussions with [North Korea] regarding the three other American citizens who are detained.”

The Washington Post reported that Warmbier was medically evacuated from the isolated state in a coma, citing his parents, although this report could not be independently confirmed by NBC News. The student was evacuated via a U.S. military base in Sapporo, Japan, the newspaper said.

Warmbier had been staying at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which is located on an island in a river that runs through Pyongyang, the capital. It is common for sections of tourist hotels to be reserved for North Korean staff and off-limits to foreigners.

North Korea regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of sending spies to overthrow its government to enable the U.S.-backed South Korean government to control the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. tourism to North Korea is legal, but the U.S. State Department strongly advises against it.

The announcement came as former NBA player Dennis Rodman paid a return visit to North Korea.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he hoped the privacy of Warmbier’s family would be respected “in the weeks and months ahead.”

In a statement, he said: “My first priority will be continuing to support Otto, his parents and family, whose strength and love of family inspire me every time I speak with them. North Korea’s despicable actions in detaining and holding Otto were unacceptable and must be condemned. ”

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 Note: By commenting below you agree to abide by the KOBI5.com commenting guidelines. View the KOBI5.com Comment Board Guidelines » </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption US student Otto Warmbier said he was "a poor scapegoat" before he was jailed in 2016

US student Otto Warmbier has been freed from jail in North Korea, but his parents say he has been in a coma for a year.

The 22-year-old was flown to the US and landed in Ohio late on Tuesday.

The Warmbier family told US media they had found out only last week that their son has been in a coma since shortly after his trial in March 2016.

Mr Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel.

On arrival in Ohio, he was being taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, US media reported.

Who is Otto Warmbier?

Otto Warmbier is an economics student from the University of Virginia, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was in North Korea as a tourist with Young Pioneer Tours when he was arrested on 2 January 2016.

He appeared emotional at a news conference a month later, in which he tearfully confessed to trying to take the sign as a "trophy" for a US church, adding: "The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people."

Foreign detainees in North Korea have previously recanted confessions, saying they were made under pressure.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Otto Warmbier's parents feared for his safety as tensions rose between the US and North Korea

After a short trial on 16 March, Mr Warmbier was given a 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state.

His parents Fred and Cindy told CNN in early May that they had had no contact with their son for more than a year.

What is his condition now?

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr and Mrs Warmbier said: "Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March 2016. We learned of this only one week ago."

They were quoted by the Washington Post as saying they had been told Otto had contracted botulism, a rare illness that causes paralysis, soon after his trial in March 2016.

He was given a sleeping pill and had been in a coma ever since, the newspaper said.

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made no mention of Mr Warmbier's condition in a statement, saying only that he was on his way home to be reunited with his family and would not make any further comment, out of respect for the privacy of the family.

Who else is detained in North Korea?

There are reported to be three other US citizens in custody in North Korea. They are:

Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised US citizen born in South Korea, who was sentenced to 10 years hard labour in April 2016 for spying

Korean-American professor Kim Sang-duk (or Tony Kim) who was detained in April 2017. The reasons for his arrest are not yet clear

Kim Hak-song, like Kim Sang-duk, worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) and was detained in May 2017 on suspicion of "hostile acts" against the state

The US has in the past accused North Korea of detaining its citizens to use them as pawns in negotiations over its nuclear weapons programme.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Dong-chul appeared on North Korea television a month after Otto Warmbier, also giving a tearful confession

The arrests have come at a time of heightened tension between North Korea and the US and its regional neighbours.

In other news on Tuesday, South Korea said it had found a North Korean drone that had crashed after taking photos of the US-funded Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad), which aims to protect the South from the North's missiles.

South Korea's military also reported that a North Korean soldier had defected across the heavily-protected Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a rare occurrence.

Why is Dennis Rodman in Pyonyang?

Mr Warmbier's release comes hours after US basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea.

Mr Rodman is a friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and has made several visits to the country in recent years.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Dennis Rodman was mobbed by the press at Beijing airport en route to Pyongyang

There was some speculation that he might plead the case for the American detainees, but en route to North Korea he told reporters "my purpose is to actually see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea".

He also said "I'm just trying to open the door", and added that he was "pretty much sure that [US President Trump] is happy with the fact that I am over here trying to accomplish something that we both need".

Mr Trump said in 2013 of Mr Rodman's then visit to North Korea: "You look at the world, the world is blowing up around us. Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have."
Following the death of 22-year-old U.S. student Otto Warmbier, touring firm Young Pioneer Tours, who arranged Otto's visit to North Korea, say they will no longer be taking U.S. citizens to North Korea as the "risk is too high". Beijing-based Koryo Tours say they are reviewing their positions on taking U.S. citizens to the country.