WASHINGTON: The United States has extended its travel ban on North Korea for one more year, a government notice showed on Wednesday. The US  Department announced the extension of the ban through August 31, 2023, in the Federal Register notice published on Tuesday, as per reports.

The ban, which was first implemented in 2017 and has since been renewed annually, was scheduled to end at the end of this month.

"The Department of State has concluded there remains to be a serious risk of arrest and long-term incarceration for US citizens and nationals, creating an immediate danger to their physical safety," the notice read.

Therefore, unless specifically certified for such travel by the Secretary of State, all US passports "shall remain invalid for travel to, in, or through the DPRK." The official term for the North is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK.

Travel to North Korea was outlawed by the US in September 2017 following the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who had sustained grave injuries while being held captive by the North Korean government for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster.

The Department of State has come to the conclusion that there is still a significant risk of arrest and long-term detention for US citizens and nationals, posing a direct threat to their physical safety.

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