Washington/Seoul, August 24 : The US has extended its travel ban to North Korea for one more year, a notice from the government was released on Wednesday.The State Department announced the extension of the ban until the 31st of August, 2023 in the Federal Register notice published on Tuesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The restriction was initially put in place in 2017 and renewed every year was scheduled to run out at the close of the month of.
“The Department of State has concluded that there is a significant danger for US residents and citizens of being detained for a long period of time and arrest that pose a risk to their physical security,” the notice read.
“Accordingly to the law, all US passports are invalid for travel within, in, or through the DPRK unless specifically validated for travel to or through the DPRK with the approval of the Secretary of State.”
The DPRK is the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea which is the official name for the North.
In September 2017 the US restricted travel to North Korea after the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who suffered grave injuries in North Korean custody for the alleged theft of an anti-war propaganda poster.
