It‘s easier for American tourists to travel to North Korea than to Cuba. It’s also more dangerous, as the death of college student Otto Warmbier after 17 months of North Korean captivity shows.

But never mind the absurdity of President Donald Trump’s reimposition of travel restrictions to a relatively open and safe island 145 kilometers off the American coast. To prevent future deaths and protect US national security, the US Congress should ban US tourist travel to Kim Jong-un’s reclusive police state.

True, North Korea is not exactly a popular destination for US tourists. Of the 100,000 foreigners who visited North Korea in 2016, slightly more than 1 percent were American (most were Chinese). North Korea’s efforts to spark a tourist boom -- including by loosening its restrictions on US tourists in 2010 -- have been a bust.

What US travelers to North Korea have provided the regime, unfortunately, is a ready supply of hostages. These Americans are then used as pawns in diplomatic negotiations with the US. Over the last decade, at least 17 US citizens have been detained in North Korea, and three remain in captivity.

A bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives would ban US tourist travel and penalize those who seek to arrange it. (Travel for other purposes -- humanitarian assistance, for instance -- would still be possible on a case-by-case basis.) The US Congress should pass it speedily.

The US should also make clear to South Korea that, under current conditions, plans to use a North Korean ski resort for the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics would be seen less as a peace gesture to the North than as a slap in the face to Americans.


(Bloomberg)