Following Trump, Biden Also Extends North Korea Travel Ban for One Year

(Photo by AP News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The U.S. Biden administration has extended its travel ban on North Korea for its citizens by one more year.

According to the Associated Press on the 1st (local time), the U.S. Department of State announced that it will extend the North Korea travel ban until August 31, 2022, in the Federal Register to be published on the 2nd.

This extension is the first North Korea travel ban extension under the Biden administration, which took office in January, and the fourth overall. Previously, the Trump administration imposed the travel ban after the death of American university student Otto Warmbier following his visit to North Korea in 2017, and has extended it annually since then.

The State Department stated that it judged there continues to be a serious risk of arrest and long-term detention that could pose an urgent threat to the physical safety of U.S. citizens.

It also clarified that, except for exceptional reasons, using a U.S. passport to travel to, from, or through North Korea is invalid.

The effect of this extension takes place immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.

The U.S. initially issued the North Korea travel ban in 2017 after Warmbier was detained in North Korea and died a week after his release.

Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 during a tourist visit to North Korea on charges of attempting to steal propaganda materials and was sentenced in March of the same year to 15 years of labor reform.

He was detained for 17 months and was released on June 13, 2017, returning home, but remained unconscious and died six days later.

Humanitarian aid organizations for North Korea in the U.S. requested the lifting of the travel ban during a meeting with the State Department on the 17th of last month, arguing that NGOs should be able to operate without obstruction.

The Biden administration declared the completion of its North Korea policy review in April and set the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy, attempting contact with North Korea, but has yet to receive any significant response.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.