Congress is preparing to move legislation as early as July prohibiting U.S. citizens from traveling to North Korea, following the death of U.S. student Otto Warmbier after he was detained in North Korea for 17 months.
Today, U.S. citizens who want to visit North Korea must obtain a license from the Treasury Department. A Republican aide for the Foreign Affairs Committee told the Washington Examiner that Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., is committed to marking up the legislation, and CNN said it could be ready by July.
The bipartisan plan bill was introduced by Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C, and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., last month, before Warmbier was released back to the U.S. But Warmbier’s death earlier this month heightened the need for action from the U.S., Wilson said.
“Sadly, because of Otto Warmbier it’s certainly been expedited,” Wilson told CNN. “The American people need to know about this, because it sounds exotic to go to a hermit kingdom, but it’s not exotic. It’s dangerous, and you’re dealing with a maniacal society.”
At least 17 U.S. citizens have been detained by North Korea over the last 10 years, and there are still three who remain in custody.
Warmbier died June 19, days after returning to his home state of Ohio. Doctors said Warmbier was in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” when he arrived in the U.S. and suffered loss of tissue in all regions of his brain. The cause of his injuries is still unknown.
Warmbier’s death has since led top U.S. officials to call for a tougher line on North Korea.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said earlier this month the U.S. “cannot and should not tolerate the murder of its citizens by hostile powers,” and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said “we hold North Korea accountable” for Warmbier’s imprisonment.
