Is it safe to travel to North Korea? (Let’s leave the question of ethics aside; that’s more open and shut. No, it is not ethical to travel to North Korea.) The Associated Press delved into the question this week, in light of the ongoing detention of an American college student who has “vacationing” in the totalitarian country over the New Year. With thousands of westerners now visiting North Korea each year, the issue of safety is an increasingly important one.
Unfortunately, the AP story doesn’t go very far in answering the question. The only sources cited in Pyongyang bureau chief Eric Talmadge’s piece are people who operate tours in North Korea; that is, people who have a direct financial stake in arguing that North Korea is, in fact, a safe place to visit. This is the equivalent of publishing an article about whether it’s safe to eat at Chipotle, which only quotes Chipotle’s CEO.
Of course, the AP has its reasons for treating North Korea gingerly. For more on that, see here.
