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Rex Tillerson

NEW YORK. – The United States has planned to bar its citizens from travelling to North Korea following the death of an American university student there.

US administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the announcement in a report published yesterday, one month after the death of university student Otto Frederick Warmbier who passed away after falling into a coma in a North Korean prison.

The officials quoted US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as saying that the government had decided to implement a “geographical travel restriction” for North Korea, meaning the use of US passports to enter the country would be illegal.

Two tour agencies, Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, both operating in and organising group trips to North Korea also revealed that they had been informed of the upcoming ban by the Swedish embassy, which conducts US affairs in the country.

“It is expected that the ban will come into force within 30 days of July 27th,” Young Pioneer Tours said in a statement.

“After the 30-day grace period any US national that travels to North Korea will have their passport invalidated by their government.”

Warmbier was taken into custody in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour in March last year, for trying to steal a banner containing a political slogan from the hotel where he had been staying.

Warmbier spent 17 months in a North Korean jail on spying charges before being released to his family. – Press TV.