The U.S. government extended its travel ban for citizens to North Korea for another year.
The U.S. Department of State published in the Federal Register on the 14th (local time) that it will extend the ban on visits to North Korea with a U.S. passport until Aug. 31, 2026. Traveling through North Korea is also not possible without separate permission.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this decision on the 21st of last month. The current travel ban was set to expire at the end of this August.
The Department of State noted that "the risk of arrest and prolonged detention of Americans in North Korea remains high" and that "this poses an immediate threat to the physical safety of Americans."
This measure was first implemented during the Trump administration's first term. It was invoked in September of the same year after American student Otto Warmbier was detained in North Korea and released in a coma, later dying.
The U.S. government has extended the travel ban every year since. The Trump administration's second term, which began this January, has also chosen the same path this time.