Current:Home > FinanceState Department renews ban on use of US passports for travel to North Korea -Elite Financial Minds
State Department renews ban on use of US passports for travel to North Korea
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:14:56
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is extending for another year a ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea, the State Department said Tuesday. The ban was imposed in 2017 and has been renewed every year since.
The latest extension comes as tensions with North Korea are rising over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the uncertain status of Travis King, a U.S. service member who last month entered the country through its heavily armed border.
“The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of arrest and long-term detention constituting imminent danger to their physical safety,” the department said in a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday that was signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The ban makes it illegal to use a U.S. passport for travel to, from or through North Korea, unless it has been specifically validated in the case of a compelling national interest. It will remain in place until Aug. 31, 2024, unless it is extended or rescinded.
The ban was first imposed during the Trump administration by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017 after the death of American student Otto Warmbier, who suffered grievous injuries while in North Korean custody.
Warmbier was part of a group tour of North Korea and was leaving the country in January 2016 when he was arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. He was later convicted of subversion and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Warmbier died in a Cincinnati hospital six days after his return to the U.S.
Humanitarian groups have expressed concern about the impact the initial ban and its extensions have had on providing relief to isolated North Korea, which is one of the world’s neediest countries.
There is no indication that King used a U.S. passport to enter North Korea when he crossed the border in July. The U.S. is seeking his return but has had limited success in querying North Korean officials about his case.
Last week, North Korea offered its first official confirmation of King’s presence in the country, releasing a statement on Aug. 16 through its state media attributing statements to the Army private that criticized the United States.
There was no immediate verification that King actually made any of the comments. He had served in South Korea and sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18, and became the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years.
veryGood! (91664)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Low Mississippi River limits barges just as farmers want to move their crops downriver
- Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner under fire for comments on female, Black rockers
- When is iOS 17 available? Here's what to know about the new iPhone update release
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- US: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa cartel leader ‘El Chapo,’ to United States
- Forecasters cancel warnings as Lee begins to dissipate over Maritime Canada
- Texas AG Ken Paxton is back on job after acquittal but Republicans aren’t done attacking each other
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- Look Back on Jennifer Love Hewitt's Best Looks
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Top EU official heads to an Italian island struggling with migrant influx as Italy toughens stance
- Nebraska TE Arik Gilbert arrested again for burglary while awaiting eligibility
- 1-year-old boy dead, 3 other children hospitalized after incident at Bronx day care
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Chinese police detain wealth management staff at the heavily indebted developer Evergrande
- Hillary Rodham Clinton talks the 2023 CGI and Pete Davidson's tattoos
- Special counsel asks judge to limit Trump's inflammatory statements targeting individuals, institutions in 2020 election case
Recommendation
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
NYC day care owner, neighbor arrested after 1-year-old dies and 3 others are sickened by opioids
'Endless calls for help': Critics say Baltimore police mishandled mass shooting response
1-year-old boy dead, 3 other children hospitalized after incident at Bronx day care
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
World War I-era plane flips onto roof trying to land near Massachusetts museum; pilot unhurt
'There was pain:' Brandon Hyde turned Orioles from a laughingstock to a juggernaut
Fact checking 'A Million Miles Away': How many times did NASA reject José M. Hernández?