US revokes visa-free entry for tourists who have visited North Korea
People with a past history of travel to North Korea may now find it more difficult to travel to the US.
Foreign nationals who have visited the hermit kingdom since March 2011 will no longer be able to use the United States’ Visa Waiver Program.
They would now have to apply for a separate visa in person at a US embassy.
The new policy from the US Department of Homeland Security now groups North Korea with other nations like Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria.
It applies to all non-governmental travel to North Korea.
While China is by far the largest source market for North Korea visits, the policy will likely impact South Korea most of all as a visa waiver program country.
According to official data, about 37,000 South Koreans have visited the North since March 2011.
US citizens have been forbidden from travel to North Korean since 2017 after an American student died shortly after being released from detention in Pyongyang.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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