The US Congress is putting together legislation to ban American citizens from traveling to North Korea, following the death of an American national who was imprisoned in the country over espionage charges.
Sponsored by Republican Representative Joe Wilson and his Democratic colleague Adam Schiff, the bipartisan bill is aimed at prohibiting tourism travels to the North, US media reported Wednesday.
If passed, the bill would require any US citizen heading to North Korea to obtain a license from the Treasury Department.
“We should have a travel ban and we’re working on legislation right now,” said Republican Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Corker is one of the known forces behind the initiative. He first raised the possibility of a ban last week, after the death of Otto Warmbier, an Ohio college student.
Warmbier spent 17 months in a North Korean jail over spying charges and was released to his family back…