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US Congress Mulls N. Korea Tourism Ban

US Congress Mulls N. Korea Tourism Ban
US Congress Mulls N. Korea Tourism Ban

Representatives Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) and Adam Schiff (D-California) on Thursday submitted a bill that would tightly restrict US travel and ban tourism to North Korea.

“Tourist travel to North Korea does nothing but provide funds to a tyrannical regime—that will in turn be used to develop weapons to threaten the United States and our allies,” Wilson said in a statement, Yahoo News reported.

“Worse, the regime has routinely imprisoned innocent foreign civilians and used them as bargaining chips to gain credibility with the West. We should not enable them any longer,” he added.

The “North Korea Travel Control Act” would block all tourist visits and force other visitors to obtain permission via a treasury licensing system, The Hill reported.

Schiff and Wilson, both members of the House Intelligence Committee, said North Korea has detained at least 17 Americans in the last decade, with four still imprisoned. Several hundred Americans have reportedly visited North Korea annually in recent years, in addition to relief workers and religious groups. There are currently no restrictions on North Korea visits despite rising tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

 

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