World

US Revokes Visa-Free Entry to Travelers Who Have Visited North Korea

New updates on the US Customs and Border Protection website revealed Monday that the US has revoked visa-free entry rights to foreigners who have visited North Korea since March 1, 2011.
Sputnik

Other countries that will toss travelers into the rejected bin include Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The site also notes that nationals from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan and Syria will be prohibited from the Visa Waiver Program.

The program, which is administered by the US Department of Homeland Security in consultation with the US Department of State, allows travelers from a list of 38 countries to enter the Land of the Free for either business or tourism for a period of up to 90 days without the need for a visa. 

The latest move comes as North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests in the last two weeks, with the most recent taking place in the early morning hours of August 6. At the time, South Korean media outlet Yonhap reported that the test involved two projectiles which were fired from the country’s South Hwanghae Province.

Said launches came as both the US and South Korean militaries engaged in scaled-down joint military drills in the region. Following the latest missile test, a spokesperson for North Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement, saying that both the US and South Korea were “playing all sorts of tricks to justify” the military drills, which the official went on to describe as “aggressive.”

Discuss