Follow us on social

2008-02-25t120000z_47712723_gm1e42p1nmj01_rtrmadp_3_korea-north-concert-scaled

Extending the North Korea travel ban is a missed opportunity

President Biden let the Trump-era rule continue, which blocks people-to-people contact and humanitarian assistance.

Analysis | Asia-Pacific

Restrictions imposed on American passport holders over travel to North Korea were extended by the Biden administration after being set to expire on September 1. Extending these restrictions is a missed opportunity to remove an obstacle to principled engagement and humanitarian exchange with North Korea. 

These restrictions, introduced by the Trump administration in 2017 and renewed annually, made U.S. passports no longer valid for travel to, in, or through North Korea. Since then, individuals seeking to legally travel to North Korea on a U.S. passport have been required to apply for a special validation passport through the U.S. State Department. These one-time-use passports are “issued on an extremely limited basis” when the State Department deems the “trip is in the national interest.” 

As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden pledged to work “to reunite Korean Americans separated from loved ones in North Korea for decades.” Prior to the travel restrictions, some Korean Americans were able to travel to North Korea to visit their family members still living there. However, with the travel restrictions in place and lack of an agreement between the American and North Korean governments on family reunions, the options for Korean American divided families to reunite in person will be extremely limited.  

One impetus for these restrictions was the tragic death of Otto Warmbier, an American student arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster while visiting North Korea as a tourist. Warmbier was held from January 2016 to June 2017 and died in the United States days after being released from North Korea in a coma.  

Warmbier was neither the first nor the last American detained in the country. At least one American was held in North Korea after the travel restrictions took effect, though he has since been released and deported after allegations that he entered North Korea illegally. Robert King, the former Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Issues notes that “[o]ver the last decade or so, some twenty Americans have been detained by the DPRK, in most cases for reasons that are consistent with North Korean laws, but not with those of democratic societies like the United States.” 

The travel restrictions have also limited the ability of some non-governmental organizations to provide medical, developmental, and other humanitarian assistance. Advocates for removing the travel restrictions note that the process is too often arbitrary and lacks transparency detailing why applications are denied. Even those individuals who have their applications for special validation passports approved by the State Department may face bureaucratic and financial burdens. 

Cultural exchanges, educational engagement, and other people-to-people exchanges are also valuable, especially given the general lack of direct contact between U.S. and North Korean citizens. This people-to-people engagement has been diverse, ranging from former American political leaders visiting North Korea to promote dialogue and understanding to the New York Philharmonic performing a concert in Pyongyang. 

Had the Biden administration chosen not to renew these travel restrictions, the initial effect would have been largely be symbolic due to North Korea’s strict self-imposed border controls arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. But easing the restrictions would have enabled direct people-to-people contact or humanitarian assistance in significant areas in the future. 

U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim recently wrote that “we are open to exploring meaningful confidence-building initiatives.” Unfortunately, this was a missed opportunity for the administration to demonstrate its commitment to that pledge by removing a significant barrier that could hinder the success of those very confidence-building initiatives.  


Members of the New York Philharmonic pose for a group photograph after arriving in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang February 25, 2008, for a stay of about 48 hours which will culminate in a concert on Tuesday. The New York Philharmonic arrived in Pyongyang on Monday to play the symphony "From the New World" in an overture to thaw still frozen ties from the Cold War era between the United States and North Korea. REUTERS/David Gray (NORTH KOREA)
Analysis | Asia-Pacific
Lockheed Martin NASA
Top photo credit: Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colo. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Pentagon spent $4 trillion over 5 years. Contractors got 54% of it.

Military Industrial Complex

Advocates of ever-higher Pentagon spending frequently argue that we must throw more money at the department to “support the troops.” But recent budget proposals and a new research paper issued by the Quincy Institute and the Costs of War Project at Brown University suggest otherwise.

The paper, which I co-authored with Stephen Semler, found that 54% of the Pentagon’s $4.4 trillion in discretionary spending from 2020 to 2024 went to military contractors. The top five alone — Lockheed Martin ($313 billion), RTX (formerly Raytheon, $145 billion), Boeing ($115 billion), General Dynamics ($116 billion), and Northrop Grumman ($81 billion) – received $771 billion in Pentagon contracts over that five year period.

keep readingShow less
China Malaysia
Top photo credit: Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia compete in the Women's Doubles Round Robin match against Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan on day five of the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 at Fenghuang Gymnasium on May 1, 2025 in Xiamen, Fujian Province of China. (Photo by Zheng Hongliang/VCG )

How China is 'eating our lunch' with soft power

Asia-Pacific

In June 2025, while U.S. and Philippine forces conducted joint military drills in the Sulu Sea and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, another story deserving of attention played out less visibly.

A Chinese-financed rail project broke ground in Malaysia with diplomatic fanfare and local celebration. As Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim noted, the ceremony “marks an important milestone” in bilateral cooperation. The contrast was sharp: Washington sent ships and speeches; Beijing sent people and money.

keep readingShow less
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin
Top photo credit: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin appear on screen. (shutterstock/miss.cabul)

Westerners foolishly rush to defend Azerbaijan against Russia

Europe

The escalating tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan — marked by tit-for-tat arrests, accusations of ethnic violence, and economic sparring — have tempted some Western observers to view the conflict as an opportunity to further isolate Moscow.

However, this is not a simple narrative of Azerbaijan resisting Russian dominance. It is a complex struggle over energy routes, regional influence, and the future of the South Caucasus, where Western alignment with Baku risks undermining critical priorities, including potential U.S.-Russia engagement on Ukraine and arms control.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.