A pair of congressmen has introduced a bill seeking to ban American tourists from visiting North Korea amid increased tensions with the Asian nation.
According to CNN Money, the North Korea Travel Control Act would require Americans to obtain a license from the Treasury Department in order to travel to North Korea. This would be similar to requirements for American travel to Cuba.
Tourists would not be eligible to receive a license.
While the tourism impact on North Korea would be minimal given that Chinese travelers account for a vast majority of its visitors, the bill could prevent more Americans from being detained.
"In recent years, there has been an increase in tourist travel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by citizens of Western countries, including the United States," said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff in a statement. "With increased tensions in North Korea, the danger that Americans will be detained for political reasons is greater than ever."
Currently, the U.S. State Department strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea, citing "serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea's system of law enforcement."
Sixteen U.S. citizens have been detained in North Korea over the past decade, according to the State Department, including travelers who were part of organized tours.
"Being a member of a group tour or using a tour guide will not prevent North Korean authorities from detaining or arresting you," the department's travel warning states. "Efforts by private tour operators to prevent or resolve past detentions of U.S. citizens in the DPRK have not been successful."
Beijing-based tour operator Koryo Group told CNN Money that about 95 percent of the 100,000 tourists that visit North Korea each year are Chinese. The group also said it takes about 2,000 travelers from other countries to North Korea each year and only 20 percent of those are American.
"The North Korean weapons program won't grind to a halt as a result of the loss of a few hundred tourists a year," Koryo's general manager Simon Cockerill told CNNMoney.
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Nonetheless, lawmakers have included American tourists' spending in North Korea in their argument for the ban.
"Tourist travel to North Korea does nothing but provide funds to a tyrannical regime-that will in turn be used to develop weapons to threaten the United States and our allies, as I saw firsthand on a rare visit to Pyongyang," Republican Rep. Joe Wilson said in a statement.
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