US extends travel ban on N.Korea for another year

Washington/Seoul, Aug 24

The US has extended its travel ban on North Korea for one more year, a government notice showed on Wednesday.

The State Department announced the extension of the ban through August 31, 2023, in the Federal Register notice published on Tuesday, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The restriction -- initially imposed in 2017 and since renewed every year -- was set to expire at the end of this month.

"The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to US citizens and nationals of arrest and long-term detention constituting imminent danger to their physical safety," the notice read.

"Accordingly, all US passports shall remain invalid for travel to, in, or through the DPRK unless specially validated for such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State."

The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

In September 2017, the US banned travel to North Korea after the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who had suffered serious injuries while in North Korean custody for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster.