Lawmakers in Congress are planning legislation to ban U.S. citizens from traveling to North Korea.
The bipartisan bill would forbid most U.S. travel to the country for five years, according to CNN.
The House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee will take up the bipartisan legislation next month.
South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson and California Rep. Adam Schiff sponsor the bill, a GOP committee aide told CNN.
Wilson and Schiff introduced the bill before the death of Otto Warmbier, who suffered brain damage while a prisoner of North Korea.
"Sadly, because of Otto Warmbier, it's been expedited. The American people need to know this. The American people need to know this, because it sounds exotic to go to a Hermit Kingdom, but it's not exotic," Wilson said in an interview, according to CNN.
"It's dangerous, and you're dealing with a maniacal society," Wilson added.
House Foreign Affairs chairman Ed Royce said visitors to North Korea would be in danger. "People watch these websites that guarantee they can go into North Korea and be secure, be safe, these glossy presentations — and the reality is that many of these visitors end up being used as bargaining chips by the North Korean regime," he said.
Some exceptions in the bill include family reunification and humanitarian work, CNN reports.
On June 20, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said a travel ban to North Korea should be up for discussion. "It's something we should seriously look at, because it affects our national security. It puts us in a very precarious situation," Corker said, Politico reported.
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