North Korea has issued a statement criticizing the travel restrictions implemented Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump—measures that did not extend to the East Asian country.
This exception could be intended as a “carrot” to encourage renewed dialogue with the United States; this is according to a commentary carried by state media that stressed North Koreans are “not interested” in entering the country.
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean Embassy in China and White House with emailed requests for comment.
Why It Matters
The Kim regime maintains strict controls on its citizens’ movements and contact with the outside world, including consumption of foreign media. With few exceptions, North Koreans are barred from leaving the country, with violators subject to harsh punishments including death, rights groups say.
What To Know
The restrictions, which banned nationals from 12 countries and placed partial limits on citizens from seven others citing national security concerns, did not include North Korea—a country the State Department designated a “state sponsor of terror” during Trump’s first term.
Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs analyst and unofficial spokesperson for the regime, criticized the U.S. travel measures in a commentary released Tuesday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
He described the measures as a “political tool” aimed at discriminating against and pressuring other nations.
That North Korea was excluded from the list “may reflect the U.S. administration’s carrot stand toward the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] to open the door to the resumption of dialogue between the two countries,” Kim said, using North Korea’s official name.
File photo: Two boys walk in the street of Pothonggang district, Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, June 6, 2025.
File photo: Two boys walk in the street of Pothonggang district, Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, June 6, 2025.
Cha Song Ho/Associated Press
Even so, North Koreans are “not interested” and have “no reason to be glad,” Kim added, describing the U.S. as “the most hostile country” to North Korea and a place where racial discrimination, xenophobia, and “all sorts of social evils flood” society.
“If the present U.S. administration thinks that the DPRK will accept the allowing of entry into the U.S. as a ‘gift’ which it neither seeks nor desires, it is a miscalculation,” he said.
In a proclamation Monday, Trump said the restrictions were necessary to protect national security and reduce visa overstays; he added that these increase the burden on law enforcement and immigration.
Democrats and immigrant rights groups have criticized the move as discriminatory.
What People Are Saying
Donald Trump, U.S. president, said in the proclamation he signed Wednesday: “As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks.”
Amnesty International said in a statement last week ahead of the travel restrictions: “By targeting people based on their race, religion, or nationality, from countries with predominantly Black, Brown and Muslim-majority populations, this blanket ban constitutes racial discrimination under international human rights law. It also spreads hate and disinformation, reinforcing the misleading idea that certain populations are more likely to pose security risks or engage in acts of violence.”
What Happens Next
Members of Trump’s team have discussed resuming talks with Kim, according to earlier reports citing people familiar with the matter. However, an in-person summit remains unlikely before a ceasefire is reached in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
Trump held two summits with Kim during his first term aimed at persuading the North Korean leader to scale back his nuclear weapons program, but ultimately failed to achieve a breakthrough.