U.S. to ban Americans from traveling to North Korea

July 21, 2017 at 8:27 a.m. | Updated July 22, 2017 at 1:55 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea. When Kim Jong Un took the helm of North Korea in late 2011, speculation swirled around the young leader. What would he do for an economically backward authoritarian nation in a high-stakes nuclear standoff with its neighbors and Washington? Almost six years later, his rule has actually seen the economy improve, and when it comes to the nuclear drive, it's obvious that Kim Jong Un, who rattled nerves last week by test-firing his country's first intercontinental ballistic missile, has a more uncompromising stance than his late father, Kim Jong Il. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea. When Kim Jong Un took the helm of North Korea in late 2011, speculation swirled around the young leader. What would he do for an economically backward authoritarian nation in a high-stakes nuclear standoff with its neighbors and Washington? Almost six years later, his rule has actually seen the economy improve, and when it comes to the nuclear drive, it's obvious that Kim Jong Un, who rattled nerves last week by test-firing his country's first intercontinental ballistic missile, has a more uncompromising stance than his late father, Kim Jong Il. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
photo Fred and Cindy Warmbier watch as their son Otto, is placed in a hearse after his funeral, Thursday, June 22, 2017, in Wyoming, Ohio. Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student who was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor in North Korea, died this week, days after returning to the United States. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials say the Trump administration will ban American citizens from traveling to North Korea following the death of university student Otto Warmbier, who passed away after falling into a coma into a North Korean prison.

The officials said Friday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had determined to implement a "geographical travel restriction" for North Korea, which would make the use of U.S. passports to enter the country illegal. They said the restriction would go into effect 30 days after a notice is published in the Federal Register, but it was not immediately clear when that would be. There was no announcement in Friday's editions of the government publication.

The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the decision before it is announced and spoke on condition of anonymity.

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