Tour company: U.S. to enforce North Korea travel ban

The United States will soon ban Americans from visiting North Korea, according to a Friday statement from a tour group. “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),” Young Pioneers Tours announced Friday morning. The tour group said after a 30-day grace period starting July 27, any U.S. citizens trying to enter North Korea will have their passports invalidated. The U.S. State Department has not made a formal announcement but momentum for the travel ban began building months ago. On May 9, the State Department strongly warned Americans against visiting North Korea: “At least 16 U.S. citizens have been detained in North Korea in the past 10 years. Being a member of a group tour or using a tour guide will not prevent North Korean authorities from detaining or arresting you.” Last year, American college student Otto Warmbier traveled to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours. Officials arrested him for trying to steal a propaganda sign and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. They freed him in June, but he returned to the United States in a coma and died one week later.