Can Americans Travel To North Korea?

Relations between North Korea and Americans are rather contradictory. On one side North Korea is considered an enemy and a threat because of its nuclear capabilities and the tendency to attack the USA. On the other hand, some Americans are interested in this mystery-country and want to know how people live in this country, which is so closed to the world. But can American citizens actually go to North Korea if they wish to? The short answer is yes, but only if some very specific criteria are met.

Visiting North Korea is tightly regulated and a small number of Western visitors with American citizens constituting only about 100 of some 6,000 Western tourists a year. Foreign tourists are required to arrange their tours only through the state owned travel companies and move according to the schedules which are chaperoned by the government minders. Self-organized travels are not permitted. One cannot walk up to the border and pay for a visa and then be allowed to visit North Korea as tourists do in other countries. Every moment is scripted for the guests to be exposed to the most appealing features of the country.

Still, it is possible for Americans to enter during some tour packages that commence in Beijing, China. As for the stamps, North Korea does not stamp the U.S passports, but stamps those of the travel agent organizing the tour. Usually, having several tourist visas from a country at a time when the person is going to be in the United States raises suspicion, but the State Department knows that the necessity of such a visa from North Korea is essential due to the limitations in place. However, there is always the catch and each and every American needs to look at the dangers involved.

The U.S.State Department issues a travel advisory against the country as it poses a high risk of arrest and detention for Americans. A number of American nationals have been arrested in the recent past under the pretext of engaging in activities deemed anti-state and hostile. Theoretically, the North Korean government doesn’t bar travel for disability but it will protect the person on an authorized tour but circumstances are changeable. This has been a common experience where Americans on tours have been detained for mere acts like leaving a Bible in a public area. If detention were to occur, there is no US embassy in the country to help. Ex-detainees have testified of some of the experiences they underwent and these include forced labor. The risks involved in traveling to North Korea should be balanced with the potential benefits that a trip to the country may offer to Americans.

However, what has been presented is that there is a possibility for Americans to tour North Korea, albeit with significant risk and restrictions not generally associated with traveling to other countries. Strict adherence to all the regulations is necessary, and there is very little room for deviation. Certain tour operators have stopped accepting American tourists on their trips due to past detentions. They have their own ways of monitoring their citizens and visitors, they have their own ways of influencing the population through propaganda, and one will have a very limited possibility to interact with the ordinary people of North Korea. Thus tourism in North Korea is technically allowed for Americans but highly challenging and potentially dangerous compared to the rest of the world. The State Department offers Americans additional information on its website for those who may still wish to gain more information or for individuals planning on visiting the oppressive nation.

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