A China-based tour company says it will no longer take U.S. citizens to North Korea. Here, Chinese vendors sell flags of North Korea and China along the Yalu River in Dandong, northern China, along the border with North Korea.

Start the conversation, or Read more at NewsOK.com.</s>The Chinese travel agency that organized Otto Warmbier’s trip to North Korea has announced it will no longer accept Americans for tours. It comes following the American student’s death after his release from 17 months’ detention in North Korea.

Young Pioneer Tours adventure travel company, based in China, reconsidered its position on taking US citizens on tours to North Korea and will no longer organize their trips to the country, according to the agency’s statement published on Tuesday.

“Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high,” the agency wrote on Facebook, following “the devastating loss of Otto Warmbier's life.” The company also noted that no previous detainment of a tourist in North Korea “has ended with such tragic finality” and emphasized this must not be repeated.

READ MORE: Comatose US student released by North Korea dies in hospital

University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier passed away on Monday after he returned to his home country with severe neurological trauma, following a long-term coma. During his detention in North Korea there had been no information about his condition, the travel agency said.

“Despite constant requests, we were denied any opportunity to meet him or anyone in contact with him in Pyongyang, only receiving assurances that he was fine,” Young Pioneer Tours wrote. “There has still been almost no information disclosed about his period in detention,” the statement adds.

Warmbier went to North Korea for a five-day trip in January 2016. During the visit, he was arrested on charges that he had stolen a political banner and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. He was released and medically evacuated to the US on June 13, due to his serious health condition.

Two more American citizens are currently in North Korean prisons. In April, North Korean officials detained Kim Sang Dok, a US accounting professor, over charges of “criminal acts of hostility” targeting the North Korean government.

A South Korea-born businessman and naturalized United States citizen, Kim Tong Chul, was arrested in October 2015 and was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor on charges of espionage and subversion.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have increased in recent months. While North Korea has stepped up missile tests, the US has boosted its military presence on the Korean Peninsula. The US has conducted a series of military drills with North Korea’s neighbors, Japan and South Korea.

READ MORE: US lawmakers propose total tourist travel ban to North Korea amid rising tensions

The escalation of tensions has caused growing concern from Russia and China, who both have a border with North Korea, and are urging all parties not to escalate the situation further.</s>Beijing, Jun 20: The China-based travel agency on Tuesday said that it would no longer take US citizens to North Korea after an American college student died after being released in a coma from North Korean detention.

The travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, specializes in North Korea tours and is based in the central Chinese city of Xi'an.

The agency on its Facebook page said that the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea "has become too high."

The tour operator said that it was denied any opportunity to meet with Warmbier after his detention, and that the way it was handled was "appalling." The travel agency specializes in North Korea tours and is based in the central Chinese city of Xi'an.

A US Student Otto Warmbier died in Ohio on Monday , days after being released by North Korea. An economics student from the University of Virginia, he was travelling in North Korea as a tourist when he was arrested on 2 January 2016.</s>CINCINNATI (AP) - A coroner's office in Ohio is investigating the death of a 22-year-old college student who died less than a week after his return to the U.S. after nearly a year and a half in North Korean detention, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The spokesman for Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammaraco said the office "accepted the case" of Otto Warmbier, who died Monday in a Cincinnati hospital. Justin Weber told The Associated Press a press conference is expected later to provide more information.

Wambier's parents did not cite a specific cause of death, but cited "awful, torturous mistreatment" by North Korea. Doctors had described Warmbier's condition as a state of "unresponsive wakefulness" and said he suffered a "severe neurological injury" of unknown cause

He arrived in Ohio on June 13 after being held for more than 17 months.

The University of Virginia student was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group and was convicted of subversion. He was put before North Korean officials and journalists for a televised "confession."

"I have made the worst mistake of my life!" he exclaimed, choking up as he begged to be allowed to reunite with his parents and two younger siblings.

He was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor. His family said it was told he had been in a coma since soon after his sentencing.

Doctors said he suffered extensive loss of brain tissue and "profound weakness and contraction" of his muscles, arms and legs. His eyes opened and blinked but without any sign that he understood verbal commands or his surroundings.

Unresponsive wakefulness is a new medical term for persistent vegetative state. Patients in this condition who have survived a coma can open their eyes, but they do not respond to commands. People can live in a state of unresponsive wakefulness for many years with the chances of recovery depending on the extent of the brain injury.

North Korea said Warmbier went into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. Doctors in Cincinnati said they found no active sign of botulism or evidence of beatings.

In a White House statement, President Donald Trump said, "A lot of bad things happened, but at least we got him home to be with his parents." He called North Korea a "brutal regime."

Warmbier grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming. He was salutatorian of his 2013 class at a highly rated high school and was on the soccer team.

Wyoming City Schools released a statement saying it was "deeply saddened" by his death.

"The countless contributions he made to his school and community through his leadership, actions, and limitless enthusiasm will be felt far into the future," the school district said.

Warmbier's sophomore English teacher said he would be "dearly missed."

Warmbier had planned to study in China in his third year of college and heard about Chinese travel companies offering trips to North Korea. He was leaving North Korea on Jan. 2, 2016, when he was detained at the airport.

The organizers of Warmbier's trip say they will no longer take U.S. citizens to the country. Young Pioneer Tours said Tuesday on Facebook that his death shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea "has become too high."

The U.S. Department of State warns against travel to North Korea. While nearly all Americans who have been there have left without incident, visitors can be seized and face lengthy incarceration for what might seem like minor infractions.

Jeffrey Fowle, also from Ohio, was detained in 2014 when he intentionally left a Bible in a nightclub. Fowle was freed after six months. He said he was kept isolated most of the time but not physically abused. He and others freed from North Korea have said they were coached and coerced into giving confessions.

Three Americans remain held in North Korea. The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.

Associated Press writers Dake Kang in Wyoming, Ohio; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Josh Boak in Washington, Carla K. Johnson in Chicago and Gerry Shih in Beijing contributed to this report.</s>A tour agency that took Otto Warmbier into North Korea before he was detained for 18 months has said it will stop taking Americans into the reclusive state.

Mr Warmbier, a student from the United States, died on Monday after he was repatriated back to his family in Ohio suffering from severe brain damage.

Young Pioneer Tours, an agency operated largely by expats in the north Chinese city of Xi’an, had previously described North Korea as "probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit.”</s>Paris police say a security operation is under way in the Champs-Elysees shopping district and are urging people to avoid the area.

Paris police say a security operation is under way in the Champs-Elysees shopping district and are urging people to avoid the area.

Carrie Fisher's autopsy report shows the actress had cocaine in her system when she fell ill on a plane last year, but investigators could not determine what impact the cocaine and other drugs found in her system had on her death.

Carrie Fisher's autopsy report shows the actress had cocaine in her system when she fell ill on a plane last year, but investigators could not determine what impact the cocaine and other drugs found in her system...

Forecasters said the storm will reach the Gulf Coast by Thursday, with little strengthening possible.

Forecasters said the storm will reach the Gulf Coast by Thursday, with little strengthening possible.

Authorities say a man charged with murder in the death of a Muslim teen who was attacked near her mosque became enraged after getting in a fight with one of the girl's friends mosque.

Authorities say a man charged with murder in the death of a Muslim teen who was attacked near her mosque became enraged after getting in a fight with one of the girl's friends mosque.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that Americans who are "stupid" enough to still want to travel to North Korea should be required to sign a waiver absolving the U.S. government of any blame should they be harmed while there.

McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said North Korea "murdered" Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American college student who died just days after North Korea released him from detention in a coma. He had arrived in Ohio on June 13 after being held for more than 17 months.

"They just murdered him," McCain said.

The University of Virginia student was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group and was convicted of subversion. He was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor.

"There should at least be a form for them to fill out that says, 'If I go to North Korea, I understand I am taking great risk and I do not hold the American government responsible. Now I hope the American government will help, etc., etc. But I realize what has happened to previous American citizens, including their deaths,'" McCain, R-Ariz., said in an interview.

"I would have that first because if people are that stupid that they still want to go to that country then at least they assume the responsibility for their welfare," McCain said.</s>CINCINNATI — A public funeral service is planned Thursday at a high school attended by a 22-year-old college student who was held for nearly a year and a half in North Korea and died shortly after he was sent home to Ohio in a coma.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said the office accepted the case of Otto Warmbier, who died Monday in a Cincinnati hospital. Justin Weber told The Associated Press that a news conference is expected later to provide more information.

The coroner’s office daily report Tuesday included Warmbier in its listings with cause of death termed “pending.”

Wambier’s parents did not cite a specific cause of death, but cited “awful, torturous mistreatment” by North Korea. Doctors had described Warmbier’s condition as a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” and said he suffered a “severe neurological injury” of unknown cause.

The funeral will be held at 9 a.m. at Wyoming High School, where Warmbier was an athlete and salutatorian of his 2013 class.

“All those that wish to join his family in celebrating his life are cordially invited,” said the Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum.

Warmbier was returned to Ohio on June 13 after being held for more than 17 months.

Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group and was convicted of subversion.

He was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor. His family said it was told he had been in a coma since soon after his sentencing.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Warmbier’s death after his lengthy detention in North Korea was a “total disgrace” and that if the college student had been returned home to the U.S. earlier, “I think the result would have been a lot different.”

North Korea must bear “heavy responsibility” for Warmbier’s death, said South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

He said in an interview on “CBS This Morning” broadcast Tuesday that while it’s not clear exactly what happened, there can be speculation that North Korea made “unjust and cruel treatments” to Warmbier.

Doctors said Warmbier suffered extensive loss of brain tissue and “profound weakness and contraction” of his muscles, arms and legs. His eyes opened and blinked but without any sign that he understood verbal commands or his surroundings.

Unresponsive wakefulness is a new medical term for persistent vegetative state. Patients in this condition can open their eyes but do not respond to commands. People can live in a state of unresponsive wakefulness for many years with the chances of recovery depending on the extent of the brain injury.

North Korea said Warmbier went into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. Doctors in Cincinnati said they found no active sign of botulism or evidence of beatings.

Warmbier had planned to study in China in his third year of college and heard about Chinese travel companies offering trips to North Korea. He was leaving North Korea on Jan. 2, 2016, when he was detained at the airport.

The organizers of Warmbier’s trip say they will no longer take U.S. citizens to the country. Young Pioneer Tours said Tuesday on Facebook that his death shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea “has become too high.”

The U.S. Department of State warns against travel to North Korea. While nearly all Americans who have been there have left without incident, visitors can be seized and face lengthy incarceration for what might seem like minor infractions.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John McCain said that Americans who are “stupid” enough to still want to visit North Korea should be required to sign a waiver absolving the U.S. government of any blame if they’re harmed while there.

Three Americans remain held in North Korea. The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.

Associated Press writers Dake Kang in Wyoming, Ohio; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio; Josh Boak in Washington; Carla K. Johnson in Chicago; and Gerry Shih in Beijing contributed to this report.</s>US President Donald Trump has admitted that China has not succeeded in getting North Korea to curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Trump’s statement, delivered in an almost cavalier tweet on Tuesday, was an extraordinary admission of failure in his strategy for dealing with the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un, New York Times said.

Given how ardently the US had sought the cooperation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump upended much of that work in 140 characters, tweeting that Chinese efforts have “not worked out”.

“While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi and China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried,” Trump wrote.

The tweet, which came hours before the US and China were set to meet in Washington to talk about North Korea, caught multiple Trump administration officials off guard, leaving them scrambling as they tried to figure out what exactly the President meant, CNN reported.

For months, Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and top aides have staked any progress dealing with North Korea’s burgeoning nuclear programme on China’s involvement.

Hanging over the Tuesday’s tweet — and Wednesday’s meeting — was the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died on Monday after spending 17 months in detention in North Korea.

His family believes he was tortured into a vegetative state. Trump condemned the ‘brutal regime’ and lamented the loss of a young man ‘in the prime of life’.

Trump had made clear in the past that despite his preference to work with China on North Korea, he was willing to go after them alone, the media reports added.

“I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. If they are unable to do so, the US, with its allies, will!” he tweeted in April.</s>CINCINNATI (AP) - A coroner's office in Ohio is investigating the death of a 22-year-old college student who died less than a week after his return to the U.S. after nearly a year and a half in North Korean detention, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The spokesman for Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammaraco said the office "accepted the case" of Otto Warmbier, who died Monday in a Cincinnati hospital. Justin Weber told The Associated Press a press conference is expected later to provide more information.

Wambier's parents did not cite a specific cause of death, but cited "awful, torturous mistreatment" by North Korea. Doctors had described Warmbier's condition as a state of "unresponsive wakefulness" and said he suffered a "severe neurological injury" of unknown cause

He arrived in Ohio on June 13 after being held for more than 17 months.

The University of Virginia student was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group and was convicted of subversion. He was put before North Korean officials and journalists for a televised "confession."

"I have made the worst mistake of my life!" he exclaimed, choking up as he begged to be allowed to reunite with his parents and two younger siblings.

He was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor. His family said it was told he had been in a coma since soon after his sentencing.

Doctors said he suffered extensive loss of brain tissue and "profound weakness and contraction" of his muscles, arms and legs. His eyes opened and blinked but without any sign that he understood verbal commands or his surroundings.

Unresponsive wakefulness is a new medical term for persistent vegetative state. Patients in this condition who have survived a coma can open their eyes, but they do not respond to commands. People can live in a state of unresponsive wakefulness for many years with the chances of recovery depending on the extent of the brain injury.

North Korea said Warmbier went into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. Doctors in Cincinnati said they found no active sign of botulism or evidence of beatings.

In a White House statement, President Donald Trump said, "A lot of bad things happened, but at least we got him home to be with his parents." He called North Korea a "brutal regime."

Warmbier grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming. He was salutatorian of his 2013 class at a highly rated high school and was on the soccer team.

Wyoming City Schools released a statement saying it was "deeply saddened" by his death.

"The countless contributions he made to his school and community through his leadership, actions, and limitless enthusiasm will be felt far into the future," the school district said.

Warmbier's sophomore English teacher said he would be "dearly missed."

Warmbier had planned to study in China in his third year of college and heard about Chinese travel companies offering trips to North Korea. He was leaving North Korea on Jan. 2, 2016, when he was detained at the airport.

The organizers of Warmbier's trip say they will no longer take U.S. citizens to the country. Young Pioneer Tours said Tuesday on Facebook that his death shows that the risk American tourists face in visiting North Korea "has become too high."

The U.S. Department of State warns against travel to North Korea. While nearly all Americans who have been there have left without incident, visitors can be seized and face lengthy incarceration for what might seem like minor infractions.

Jeffrey Fowle, also from Ohio, was detained in 2014 when he intentionally left a Bible in a nightclub. Fowle was freed after six months. He said he was kept isolated most of the time but not physically abused. He and others freed from North Korea have said they were coached and coerced into giving confessions.

Three Americans remain held in North Korea. The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.

Associated Press writers Dake Kang in Wyoming, Ohio; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Josh Boak in Washington, Carla K. Johnson in Chicago and Gerry Shih in Beijing contributed to this report.</s>Young Pioneer Tours, a travel operation that brings Western communist sympathizers into North Korea, Cuba, and other danger zones, announced Tuesday it will no longer accept Americans on its trips to North Korea following the death of Otto Warmbier.

Warmbier, 22, died Monday following his release from North Korean custody last week. He had traveled to Pyongyang with Young Pioneer Tours and stood accused of attempting to steal a communist propaganda poster from his hotel.

In a March 2016 hostage video, Warmbier “confessed” to the crime and claimed that the U.S. government had bribed him to tamper with the poster. In that confession, he also thanked North Korea for its “humanitarian” treatment of a “severe criminal” like him.

In a blog post on its website, Young Pioneer Tours announced, “We will no longer be organising tours for US citizens to North Korea.”

“The devastating loss of Otto Warmbier’s life has led us to reconsider our position on accepting American tourists. There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result,” the statement reads.

“Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high.”

While the group condemns the “way” that North Korea handled the detention as “appalling” and a “tragedy,” it does not condemn the North Korean regime for arresting Warmbier in the first place or for its record of detaining Americans to be used as diplomatic bargaining chips.

The company also claims that it made “constant requests” to North Korean officials for information on Warmbier but was told only that “he was fine.”

Warmbier arrived in the United States last week with “extensive brain damage” according to American doctors that cared for him in Ohio before his death. North Korean officials claimed that he had been in a coma for about a year after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill, but American doctors said they saw no evidence of botulism.

Warmbier’s father, Fred, attacked Young Pioneer Tours and its ilk in the press conference he hosted last week, following Otto Warmbier’s return to Ohio.

“The North Koreans lure Americans to travel to North Korea via tour groups, run out of China, who advertise slick ads on the internet proclaiming, ‘No American ever gets detained on our tours’ and ‘This is a safe place to go,’” he explained.

At the time, the New York Times reported, the Young Pioneers website read that being American was “not at all” a problem in traveling to North Korea, despite U.S. State Department warnings against such travel. Since the change in policy this morning, the site notes that it will not accept American travelers on its North Korea trips.

Other than that minor change, the group’s misleading portrayal of North Korea, clearly designed to appeal to impressionable youth, remains on the site.

“Despite what you may hear, for most nationalities, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit provided you follow the laws as provided by our documentation and pre-tour briefings,” the website claims.

It applauds North Korea’s not allowing foreigners to go anywhere in the country without a communist chaperone because it “adds to the mysticism of the country.” It warns tourists not to speak too much during the trip: “If you’re quiet and listen you’ll be surprised just how much you can learn.”

Young Pioneers also still boasts “budget tours to destinations your mother wants you to stay away from” and a blog replete with praise for a dizzying array of oppressive regimes ranging from Cuba (“We’re taking you to Cuba this December for our annual Che Guevara Revolutionary Tour!”) to Myanmar (“One of the most special and unique travel experiences, due to its stunning geography, rich and varied culture and warm, proud people”), and China (“Once in a lifetime Maoist adventure”).

Young Pioneers, named after the communist equivalent to the Hitler Youth, calls itself “a company that craves communist kitsch.” Its founder, British ex-pat Gareth Johnson, writes in his biography that his “new-found love for the people and culture of the DPRK” led him to establish the group and praises North Korea’s “great, plentiful, and cheap!” seafood. At least one American, Amanda Moore, is listed as an official in the company.

While the company is in the public eye for leading Warmbier to his death, Young Pioneers is not the only group preying on the curiosity of young Westerners with North Korea trips.

One tour group, the Koryo Group, also claims on its website that North Korea is “probably one of the safest countries in the world for a tourist.” New Korea Tours promises “a tour of communism which starts with the 1950’s reconstruction. … Every tourist who has traveled with us has said it has been one of the highlights in their world travels.”
Following the death of 22-year-old U.S. student Otto Warmbier, touring firm Young Pioneer Tours, who arranged Otto's visit to North Korea, say they will no longer be taking U.S. citizens to North Korea as the "risk is too high". Beijing-based Koryo Tours say they are reviewing their positions on taking U.S. citizens to the country.