US bans its citizens from travelling to North Korea after one of its students dies following detention

WASHINGTON has banned its citizens from travelling to North Korea with effect from the end of August in response to US citizen Otto Warmbier dying in detention after being jailed in the country for 15 years.

Two American agencies that operate tour in North Korea, Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, said the ban would be announced on July 27 to come into effect 30 days later. Young Pioneer Tours was the agency that took US student, Otto Warmbier, to North Korea.

He was later arrested and jailed for 15 years, before being returned in a coma to the US in June but died a few days later. After his death the Chinese-based company later announced it would no longer take visitors from the US to the country.

A company spokesman said: “We have just been informed that the US government will no longer be allowing its citizens to travel to North Korea and it is expected that the ban will come into force within 30 days of July 27. After the 30 day grace period, any US national that travels to North Korea will have their passport invalidated by their government.”

Rowan Beard, of Young Pioneer Tours, said that the company had been informed by the Swedish embassy, which looks after US affairs in North Korea. At the moment, the embassy is trying to check the number of US tourists left in North Korea.

There are reported to be three US citizens in custody in North Korea. They include Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised US citizen born in South Korea, who was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in April 2016 for spying.

Korean-American professor, Kim Sang-duk, who was detained in April 2017 is also in detention, although the reasons for his arrest are not yet clear. Then, Kim Hak-song, like Kim Sang-duk, worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology and was detained in May 2017 on suspicion of hostile acts against the state.