After Otto Warmbier's Death, U.S. Plans To Ban Travel To North Korea

The U.S. is about to ban travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea. The move comes after the death of American Otto Warmbier, who spent a year and a half in a North Korean jail only to return home in a coma. </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 : 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> 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> 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> The U.S. government will ban Americans from travelling to North Korea due to "the serious risk of arrest" after an American student was jailed while on a tour and later died, the State Department said on Friday.

WASHINGTON/SEOUL: The U.S. government will ban Americans from travelling to North Korea due to "the serious risk of arrest" after an American student was jailed while on a tour and later died, the State Department said on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson authorized a "Geographical Travel Restriction" on all Americans' use of a passport to the country, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"Once in effect, U.S. passports will be invalid for travel to, through and in North Korea, and individuals will be required to obtain a passport with a special validation in order to travel to or within North Korea," Nauert said.

The move was due to "mounting concerns over the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea's system of law enforcement," she added.

North Korea has detained two Korean-American academics and a missionary, a Canadian pastor and three South Korean nationals who were doing missionary work there. Japan says at least several dozen of its nationals are being held in the country.

The State Department plans to publish a notice in the Federal Register next week, starting a 30-day clock before the restriction takes effect, Nauert said.

Nauert said Americans who want to travel to North Korea "for certain limited humanitarian or other purposes" can apply for a special passport to do so.

Young Pioneer, a company that arranges tours to North Korea, took American student Otto Warmbier to the country at the end of 2015.

He was arrested there and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for an incident at his hotel where he was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner.

North Korea released the 22-year-old Warmbier in June in a coma and he died days after getting back to the United States. The circumstances surrounding his death are not clear, including why he fell into a coma.

North Korea has said through its state media that Warmbier's death was "a mystery" and dismissed accusations that he had died as a result of torture and beating in captivity.

The isolated North Korea allows foreign tourists to visit but their travel is strictly limited.

Hundreds of Americans are among the roughly 4,000 to 5,000 Western tourists who visit North Korea each year, according to U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina.

Earlier this year Wilson introduced a bill with Democratic Representative Adam Schiff to ban Americans from travelling to North Korea as tourists.

Anthony Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former U.S. Treasury official, said the State Department's action is important because it limits North Korea's ability to use detained Americans as a bargaining chip with Washington.

A Treasury Department ban, which must be authorized by Congress, would be more effective than just the State Department ban, he said.

"Treasury has experience implementing a travel ban and an established procedure for issuing exceptions," Ruggiero said.

A Treasury Department spokesman did not immediately say whether the agency is considering such a ban.

Tom Bodkin, managing director of the UK-based adventure travel company Secret Compass, said the travel ban is "a bit of a shame."

"Travel between different cultures breaks down the preconceptions that you have about different cultures and breaks down the stereotypes that you have," he said.

Secret Compass has brought three Americans among the 19 people it took to North Korea since launching tours there last fall, he said.

North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threat is perhaps the most serious security challenge confronting U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to strike the United States with a nuclear missile - a capability experts say Pyongyang could have some time after 2020. </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> 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> June 20 (Reuters) - The Ohio coroner examining the death of a University of Virginia student who was held prisoner in North Korea for 17 months expects to share preliminary findings of the autopsy on Tuesday or Wednesday, her office said.

Otto Warmbier died at the age of 22 in a Cincinnati hospital on Monday, just days after the North Korean government sent him home in a coma and suffering from extensive brain damage, according to the U.S. doctors who treated him.

His body was transferred to the Hamilton County Coroner's office later that day, Don Jasper, its chief investigator, said on Tuesday. The coroner, Lakshmi Kode Sammarco, is expecting to release initial results from her examination later on Tuesday or on Wednesday, Jasper said.

Warmbier, who was born in Ohio, was arrested in North Korea in January 2016 while visiting as a tourist. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang, the nation's state media said.

His family did not give a cause of his death but said in a statement on Monday that the "awful torturous mistreatment" Warmbier endured while in North Korean custody meant "no other outcome was possible."

Relatives have said U.S. envoys told them that North Korean officials said Warmbier contracted botulism after his trial and became comatose after taking a sleeping pill, according to the Washington Post. Fred Warmbier, the student's father, has said he does not believe this account.

North Korea said they released Warmbier last week on "humanitarian grounds."

U.S. President Donald Trump offered condolences to the Warmbier family on Monday and denounced "the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim." U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson repeated demands that North Korea release three other U.S. citizens it holds in detention: missionary Kim Dong Chul and academics Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song.

The government of China, North Korea's main ally, said Warmbier's death was a tragedy.

Tensions between the United States and North Korea have been heightened by dozens of North Korean missile launches and two nuclear bomb tests since the beginning of last year in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The North Korean government has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
The U.S. State Department announces that it will ban travel to North Korea, following the death of Otto Warmbier.