Traveling to North Korea is not at the top of most America's summer vacation plans, but adventure seekers who want a taste of Pyongyang will soon be out of luck, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The U.S. is about to halt all travel to North Korea, according to the BBC, which quoted a State Department spokeswoman, who said in a statement that the ban would be published this week in the Federal Register.
Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI, it's about time.
"The North Korean dictator would love to use an American hostage and say that they were there spying on the country," he explains. "They are willing to use Americans for their own benefits in disinformation campaigns."
Hurd recently visited the Korean peninsula, and says the pending travel ban comes at a particularly volatile time. North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month, prompting a backlash from much of the world.
The final straw, though, was apparently the death of jailed American student Otto Warmbier.
Congressman Hurd says we need to be watching North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un closely.
"He's going to stop at nothing to get an ICBM that he can put a nuclear weapon on top in order to potentially hit the United States," the former agent with the CIA explains.
Once the ban is in effect, Americans will need special permission to travel to North Korea.
IMAGE; GETTY