The unfortunate passing of Otto Warmbier brought about a whole new world of consequences that the United States has to manage at this point. The American public was enraged, the US President seemingly even more enraged, and the entire rest of the world was in need of the truth behind Warmbier's condition upon returning home.
Otto Warmbier's impact on U.S.-North Korean relations
Warmbier is only one of the most recent victims to be released by the North Korean government. There are three American detainees currently imprisoned as of today: Kim Dong-chul was sentenced to ten years of hard labor for espionage in October of 2015, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-Song were was detained for "hostile acts against the the state" just earlier this year.
With all of the economic and political incentives to keep the American people far away from the regime, a proposal had been being brought to life by Democratic Representative Schiff for California's 28th congressional district. It succinctly outlines that Americans will not be able to apply for permits which grant permission from the U.S. Government for travel to the isolated state.
Empirically speaking, there isn't much evidence of an ever present "travel ban." The only limited "tourism bans" that have been enforced by the United States government, are travel restrictions that are set in place; a popular case study we can look into is the travel restriction set in place during the Cuban Embargo, which really shouldn't have been enforced for economic and medical reasons.
The final verdict
After all is said and done, it comes down to whether the right to freedom of movement trumps the risk of having Americans detained by an unpredictable, oppressive authoritarian regime that has publicly denounced (and threatened) the American Government on multiple occasions. Though this is most clearly political, I find that travel isn't solvent of the issue of learning and respecting cultures unique to our own.
Though there are times when these sorts of situations become completely out of control, adults traveling into these sorts of dangerous zones should be aware of the status of the regime and the country's perception of American culture and acceptance of foreigners.
There are many different concerns about the principles that may be set during times of tensions.
Currently, we are experiencing an American government that perpetuates a horrible habit of allowing U.S. citizens to enter a country, while indirectly supporting one of the most hostile families in control of one of the most violent and corrupt lands.
It's time to put more trust into the people. Regardless of whether or not Westerners are targets of the regime, it is important to understand that people have the right to make their own choices while understanding the fact that they need to be aware of the consequences that they face when traveling to such a dangerous territory. Though there is much for the government to be reasonably concerned about, much of the negative attention being brought upon the North Korean dictatorship should warn the world about its willingness to prove others wrong and stand on top as the best country in the world (as told by the brainwashed population too afraid to actually speak their minds).
Let the people learn.
If you're looking for some recent developments on US-North Korean Relations, you can look here. You can find reactions to President Trump's tweet regarding the passing of Otto Warmbier here.
