WASHINGTON: The US has strongly warned its citizens against travelling to North Korea following the arrest of a fourth American citizen in the reclusive country, saying they face "serious risk" of arrest and long-term detention.
"This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens US citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with wartime law of the DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," the State Department said.
"If you decide to enter North Korea against the advice of this Travel Warning, you should have no expectation of privacy. All electronic and multimedia devices including USB drives, CDs, DVDs, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, Internet browsing histories, and cookies are subject to search for banned content," it said.
The warning came as US citizen Kim Hak-Song was detained in North Korea for "hostile acts." The official KCNA news agency said he had worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).
At least 16 US citizens have been detained in North Korea in the past ten years.
"The Department of State strongly warns US citizens not to travel to North Korea," the warning said.
"US citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea's system of law enforcement," the department said.
North Korean authorities have detained those who travelled independently and those who were part of organised tours, the State Department said.
Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the US government has no means to provide normal consular services to US citizens.
The State Department also warned tourists spending money in the communist nation are potentially funding their nuclear regime.
"The DPRK funnels revenue from a variety of sources to its nuclear and weapons programmes, which it prioritises above everything else, often at the expense of the well-being of its own people. It is entirely possible that money spent by tourists in the DPRK goes to fund these programmes.
"We would urge all travellers, before travelling to the DPRK, to consider what they might be supporting," the State Department said.