North Korea tourism: US 'to ban Americans from visiting'
The US is to ban its citizens from travelling to North
Korea, according to two agencies that operate tours there.
Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours said the ban would be
announced on 27 July to come into effect 30 days later.
They were informed by the Swedish embassy, which conducts US
affairs in the country.
The US has not yet confirmed the ban but there has been
momentum, given the worsening ties and
the death of jailed American student
Otto Warmbier.
Mr Warmbier travelled to North Korea with Young Pioneer
Tours. He was arrested in 2016 for trying to steal a propaganda sign and
sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was returned to the US in a coma in June
and died a week later.
Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours both revealed on Friday
that they had been told of the upcoming ban by the Swedish embassy, which acts
for the US as Washington has no diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Rowan Beard, of Young Pioneer Tours, told the BBC the
embassy was urging all US nationals to depart immediately.
He said the embassy was trying to check on the number of US
tourists left in the country.
There has been no official confirmation from the US. The
state department continues to have an alert dated 9 May strongly warning US
citizens not to travel to North Korea.
A Young Pioneer Tours statement said: "It is expected
that the ban will come into force within 30 days of July 27th.
"After the 30-day grace period any US national that
travels to North Korea will have their passport invalidated by their
government."
Rowan Beard said that the 30-day grace period would
"give leeway for any [Americans] currently in the country as tourists or
on humanitarian work".
Simon Cockerell, of Koryo Tours, said: "It remains to
be seen what the exact text is, but the indication is it's just a straight up
ban on Americans going."
Associated Press news agency quoted US officials as saying
that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had decided to implement a
"geographical travel restriction" for North Korea, meaning the use of
US passports to enter would be illegal.
Mr Cockerell told the BBC the agency would still conduct
tours and take Americans until the ban came into effect.
Media captionOtto Warmbier, fourth from right, seen shortly
before his arrest
"If their country allows them to go, we will take
them," he said.
Mr Cockerell added: "It's unfortunate for the industry
but also for North Koreans who want to know what Americans are really
like."
After the death of Mr Warmbier, the China-based Young
Pioneer Tours announced it would no longer take visitors from the US to the
country.
There has been movement towards a ban for a while in the US,
which increased with the Warmbier death.
In May, two congressmen introduced the North Korea Travel
Control bill to cut off the foreign currency the country earns from American
tourists.
The House foreign affairs subcommittee is scheduled to take
up the draft legislation on 27 July but it would still have to go to the
Senate. So there could be an executive order.
Apart from the treatment of Americans in North Korea,
tension has been increasing over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
Media captionTake a tour of the demilitarised zone between
North and South Korea
This month North Korea announced it had successfully tested
what it said was its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the
latest in a series of tests in defiance of a UN ban.
Its range has been disputed, but some experts said it could
reach Alaska.
The US and South Korea then conducted a ballistic missile
drill and issued a stark warning to the North.
Some are suggesting the US is using the date the ban is set
to be announced - 27 July - to cloud North Korea's Victory Day on the same day.
North Korea only relaxed its rules for American visitors in
2010.
The state department does not keep a record of the number of
American tourists.
Tour operators suggest that up to 1,000 visit every year.
Otto Frederick Warmbier on 29 February 2016Image
copyrightREUTERS
Otto Warmbier appeared in a news conference in 2016
confessing to stealing a propaganda sign
Otto Warmbier, 22, was an economics student who was arrested
on 2 January 2016 and confessed to trying to take a propaganda sign from a
hotel.
He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour.
In June, North Korea said he had been in a coma for a year
after contracting botulism.
He was flown back to the US on 13 June but died a week later
without regaining consciousness.
His family rejected North Korea's version of events, saying
he had been subjected to "awful torturous mistreatment".
there are reported to be three US citizens in custody:
Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised US citizen born in
South Korea, who was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in April 2016 for
spying
Korean-American professor Kim Sang-duk (or Tony Kim) who was
detained in April 2017. The reasons for his arrest are not yet clear
Kim Hak-song, like Kim Sang-duk, worked at the Pyongyang
University of Science and Technology (PUST) and was detained in May 2017 on
suspicion of "hostile acts" against the state
The US has in the past accused North Korea of detaining its
citizens to use them as pawns in negotiations over its nuclear weapons
programme.
article source-http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40680500
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