State Department Bans Travel To North Korea Starting Sept. 1

A U.S. passport will only get you into North Korea for the rest of August, the State Department announced Wednesday.

In a notice posted to the federal register, the State Department said beginning September 1 U.S. passports will be invalid for travel to or within North Korea, withrare exceptions possibly granted to journalists and aid workers. The new rule will also apply to those currently in the country on U.S. passports; they were advised to depart in the next 30 days.

The State Department said the restriction is in response to "the serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention."

The notice served mostly to put an effective date on a ban announced last month by the U.S. government.

More