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  • Despite strong warnings from the US State Department about the dangers of visiting North

  • Korea, the East Asian country is still a popular destination for adventurous travelers seeking

  • an unconventional experience.

  • But there's a lot you should consider before booking your next trip there.

  • Just getting to North Korea can be quite an ordeal.

  • A flight from Los Angeles will take at least fifteen hours with a layover in Beijing.

  • Once there though, visitors find that North Korea is a beautiful country covered with

  • mountains and valleys.

  • And the capital city of Pyongyang is an experience like no other, with its own unique culture,

  • food, and architecture.

  • But North Korea has a reputation as a closed off and secretive nation for a reason.

  • There are numerous rules governing what tourists are allowed to see and even stricter controls

  • on what they can photograph.

  • And if you do happen to break one of these tourist rules, knowingly or otherwise, you

  • may find yourself in a lot more trouble than you anticipated.

  • Visitors have reported being aggressively searched and interrogated and some have even

  • been detained or taken prisoner for no reason at all.

  • The *really* unlucky ones who are formally charged with a crime are often forced to participate

  • in a sham trial, and then sentenced to hard labor at work camps where the conditions are

  • miserable.

  • Long days of manual labor, not enough food, and crowded sleeping arrangements are the

  • norm.

  • Along with prison sentences that can last fifteen years or more for even a minor violation.

  • Prisoners are usually released only after serving their terms in full or by special

  • pardon from the leader of the country, Kim Jong-Un.

  • He gained control of North Korea in 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, and

  • has been in power ever since.

  • Kim Jong Un maintains a strict dictatorship and lives a lavish lifestyle with access to

  • western goods and entertainment, but at the same time denies most North Korean citizens

  • access to these comforts and luxuries.

  • He has also accelerated North Korea's nuclear weapons program and missile development, conducting

  • frequent tests of new missiles and warheads.

  • Of even greater concern, recent North Korean missile tests have demonstrated that they

  • likely have the range to target and hit the United States.

  • US citizen travel to North Korea may soon be banned and made illegal.

  • So, if you are considering a visit to North Korea, your time is running out.

  • Just be really careful once you're there, or your trip could turn out to be much longer

  • than you planned with some very unexpected surprises.

Despite strong warnings from the US State Department about the dangers of visiting North

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