After taking a drastically different turn from its southern counterpart following World War II, North Korea quickly earned a reputation for being one of the most closed-off and dangerous countries in the world for Westerners to visit.

For the last seven decades, the Kim dynasty has severely restricted the human rights of North Korean residents. Foreigners who enter are also subject to what is often arbitrary and unpredictable enforcement of local laws.

While Americans were previously able to travel to North Korea against the recommendation of the State Department, a full ban on using a U.S. passport to cross its borders was put in place in 2017 after the death of Otto Warmbier.

The 22-year-old Ohio student died after months spent in a vegetative state, following his arrest for taking a poster from a hotel room while on a group tour.

U.S. State Department extends North Korea travel ban for Americans

Over the last two years, some guided tours from China and South Korea have started to resume after North Korea went into full shutdown during the Covid pandemic. In March 2025, a China Railways train route between Beijing and Pyongyang that was first launched in 1954 also began running four times a week following the same six-year pause.

Although some Americans with dual citizenship previously used a foreign passport to join one of these tours, the North Korean government earlier this year explicitly updated its entry rules to state that U.S. citizens are not permitted to do this.

Related: Country bans entry to travelers with dual passports

Given the continued lack of official diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang, the U.S. State Department has also just extended its North Korea travel ban for another year.

The 2017 ban has been renewed repeatedly rather than made permanent; the ban set to expire on Aug. 31, 2026, has now been extended until the same date in 2027.

Statues of Kim leaders are displayed in Pyongyang.

LMspencer / Shutterstock

“Serious risks to U.S. citizens of arrest and long-term detention”

“The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of arrest and long-term detention constituting imminent danger to their physical safety,” the new notice reads. It also cites the risks of traveling to the closed-off country and having no access to diplomatic help should things go wrong.

More Travel News:

• Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.
• There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the Bahamas
• Unexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026
• Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri Lanka

While other Western countries like Canada and the United Kingdom do not formally ban their citizens from traveling to North Korea, the country is kept at the highest “do not travel” advisory rating by most nations.

South Korea, meanwhile, took a drastically different post-war approach and evolved into a modern democracy and economic powerhouse that has become one of the most popular destinations for tourists from around the world in recent years.

The two countries are separated by a 160-mile-long and heavily guarded Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Some tourists in South Korea will visit the DMZ through a guided tour to see North Korean land from a distance, as well as the visible ways a dictatorship closes itself off.

Related: U.S. travel ban stops Americans from returning home