The ban on the use of US passports for traveling to
North Korea has been extended by the Trump administration for one more year.
According to a State Department notice that released on Monday, unless
revoked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the ban will
continue till August 31, 2020.
Enforced by the then-Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson in 2017, the ban got renewed in 2018 as well.
It was imposed in the wake of the death of Otto
Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in the North Korea and
died immediately after his return to the US in a state of coma.
However obtaining a little relaxation, it allows
certain categories of U.S. Citizens like humanitarian agencies or
journalists to have a special validation passport good for single trip to North
Korea.
A stagnant diplomatic efforts to restart nuclear
talks between North Korea and the US has prompted this move, is believed.
