The US authorities again extended the ban on travel of its citizens to the DPRK for a year, according to a State Department notice in the US Federal Register (a collection of official documents of the US government), TASS reports.

The ban has been extended until August 31, 2023, provided the deadline is not extended or the restriction is lifted early by the Secretary of State.

US citizens have been banned from traveling to North Korea without special permission from the State Department since September 2017. The restriction was introduced after the death of student Otto Wombier.

Wombier tore down a political poster from a hotel wall in January 2016 during a tourist trip to North Korea. The Korean Supreme Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison to be served in a labor camp. On June 13, 2017, the DPRK authorities released Wombier for humanitarian reasons and handed over to the United States in a serious condition.

Upon arrival at home, the American was diagnosed with damage to parts of the brain and the almost irreversible death of its tissues. Soon he died.