The State Department is right to ban American passport holders from traveling to North Korea. While only a few hundred Americans actually visit North Korea each year, the ban is a significant step. It sends the message that the U.S. government expects relations with Kim Jong Un to continue souring.
It also shows that the U.S. believes North Korea wants to use American tourists as hostages or diplomatic bargaining chips.
For these reasons, we should respect the Trump administration’s decision.
Regardless, it’s clear that American citizen visitors to North Korea face an unprecedented threat. It’s all about Otto Warmbier. A young American student, Warmbier died in June after suffering a year of brutal treatment in North Korean prison. Trump has good reason to prevent other Americans from suffering the same fate. And as American diplomatic and military pressure on Kim Jong Un builds, the North Korean leader will become increasingly unpredictable. He would probably relish the opportunity to have a few dozen Americans to hold as hostages.
Still, with three Americans remaining imprisoned in North Korea, another American casualty cannot be discounted.
Of course, this decision is as much about protecting U.S. policy-making options as it is about protecting U.S. citizens.
After all, if Kim Jong Un has fewer hostages with which to dangle threats against the United States, his ability to deter more aggressive American diplomatic or military action will be reduced. And that’s important, because the risks that North Korea presents to U.S. security continue to grow. Trump needs freedom of action to address this threat. And nations like China and Russia must understand that Trump is removing the obstacles to military action.
Diplomacy will never succeed if North Korea and China do not believe Trump is prepared to use force on the Korean Peninsula.
True, some might lament that this ban represents a lost opportunity. And they have a point. While the benefits of travel to North Korea might be unpredictable, they are not necessarily non-existent. Americans who visit Pyongyang can see the reality of its big-brother-style dystopia. And they can learn about popular attitudes towards the Kim dynasty and the United States. These experiences help educate our understandings of political philosophy and North Korean society.
Nevertheless, I am sympathetic to Trump’s decision. Presidents have banned U.S. citizens from traveling to various nations in the past, and future presidents will probably do so again. But considering the specific nature of Kim Jong Un’s regime, his record of abuse against U.S. citizens, and the escalating nuclear/ballistic missile threat he poses, Trump’s decision is absolutely justified.
