7/21/2017

NORTH KOREA/TRAVEL BAN: “Two of the biggest travel companies that bring Western tourists to North Korea say the U.S. government will ban its citizens from traveling to the isolated country starting next month.
The travel ban would come just weeks after U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who was detained while on a tour in Pyongyang last year, died after he returned home in June with a severe brain injury.
The two tour operators, China-based Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, said Friday [7-21-17] the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which handles U.S. diplomatic affairs in North Korea, had contacted them separately by phone to inform them of the U.S. decision.
Officers at both companies said the Swedish Embassy told them the U.S. would make the announcement on Thursday next week, with the ban to take effect 30 days later, in late August. Violating the ban would lead to the U.S. government invalidating the traveler’s passport, Young Pioneer said it was told.
It is unclear whether the travel ban would also apply to humanitarian and educational work in North Korea.”

-Johnathan Cheng, “U.S. to Ban Tourist Visits to North Korea, Tour Operators Say,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 21, 2017 05:54am