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07-22-2017, 11:27 AM
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US to ban travel to **rth Korea after Warmbier death
China-based Young Pioneer Tours, which had taken Warmbier to **rth Korea, and Koryo Tours said the ban will come into force on July 27 -- the anniversary of the end of the Korean War -- with a 30-day grace period. “We have just been informed that the US government will ** longer be allowing US citizens to travel to the DPRK (**rth Korea),” Young Pioneer Tours said on its website. “After the 30-day grace period any US national that travels to **rth Korea will have their passport invalidated by their government,” it said. The company did **t say who had **tified it of the ban, which followed its earlier an**uncement that it would ** longer take Americans to **rth Korea in the wake of Warmbier’s death last month. Koryo Tours general manager Simon Cockerell told AFP that his company was **tified by the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which usually acts on behalf of the United States in **rth Korea since Washington has ** diplomatic ties with the isolated regime. The official an**uncement “will basically end American tourism” in **rth Korea, Cockerell 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,” he said. His company currently takes between 300-400 Americans to the country each year, he said, adding that the company has begun informing American customers who had reserved tours of the ban. While the decision will be bad for business, he sees it as more damaging to “**rth Koreans who are interested in having a balanced portrayal of what Americans are really like”. A US embassy spokesman in Seoul could **t be reached for comment, while his counterpart in Beijing said she would check with Washington. It was unclear whether the ban would be imposed by a US executive order. A foreign affairs subcommittee of the US House of Representatives is scheduled to take up draft legislation on July 27 that would forbid Americans from travelling to **rth Korea. According to its text, at least 17 US citizens had been detained in **rth Korea as of May. At least three remain in the country’s custody. “The government of **rth Korea has repeatedly detained United States citizens to be used as bargaining chips in negotiations over a variety of issues,” it says, including “**rth Korea’s illegal nuclear ******* programme.” The bill would require Senate approval and the president’s signature before becoming law. Travellers wanting to visit the **rth must go with a tour company. Americans are required to fly to Pyongyang from Beijing, while other nationalities are allowed to go by train. But the US State Department has strongly warned US citizens against travelling there. Warmbier, 22, died after being medically evacuated to the United States suffering from severe brain damage. He had spent 18 months in captivity in **rth Korea. US President Donald Trump had blamed Pyongyang’s “brutal regime” for his plight. **rth Korea accused the United States of waging a “smear campaign” and denied that Warmbier was tortured or abused. Young Pioneer Tours, founded in 2008 by a British expat, came under fire after Warmbier was flown home in a coma following a flurry of secret diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. The University of Virginia student was arrested at the airport as he was leaving Pyongyang in January last year and sentenced at a show trial to 15 years of hard labour for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His case added to already high tensions in the region over **rth Korea’s ******* ambitions, culminating in the country’s successful test launch earlier this month of an intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say could reach Alaska. أكثر... ??????? ??????: US to ban travel to **rth Korea after Warmbier death || ??????: ahlam1399 || ??????: اسم منتداك
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