‘It could have been me’: safety questions raised over North Korea tour packages after Otto Warmbier case
Travel agencies are reviewing their policies while some have stopped taking American clients to the reclusive state
The death of Otto Warmbier, who was returned to the United States in a coma after being detained for more than a year in North Korea, has raised questions over the safety standards of tour agencies offering trips to the hermit state.
Travel agents have announced they will either stop accepting Americans or review their policy on the matter.
According to an industry insider, some 1,000 Americans visit North Korea each year.
“It could have been me.” That was Maxwell Hugh Leary’s first thought when he came to know of the death of Warmbier last Monday.
Leary, an American who studied in Hong Kong, went to North Korea in the summer of 2014. He was 22 – a year older than Warmbier at the time of his arrest in January last year. Despite their similarities, the experiences of the two young men could hardly be more different.
“We don’t know exactly what happened to Otto, maybe he was set up … Maybe I could have gone through the same situation. I am obviously thankful that nothing similar happened to me,” he said.
Leary, 25, who lived in China for nearly four years, said he went to North Korea because he wanted to learn about its people, culture and government.
“Few Americans have been to North Korea ... I felt I had the responsibility of going there and coming back to teach my country about it,” he said. “My parents did not want me to go.”
Leary was studying finance at Hong Kong Polytechnic University when he took a seven-day trip to North Korea arranged by Eastern Vision, a local travel agency.
“I was very aware of the rules and tried very hard to respect them,” he said, adding he had felt uneasy there on a few occasions. “I was afraid when I first arrived and on the last day when they checked my pictures before I left.”
Leary, who now works in investment banking, said Warmbier’s ordeal was upsetting. “You can’t break the laws of a country,but when I heard about the things he went through, regardless of [whether he was guilty], I felt very sorry. It’s a tragedy.”
He added he was glad he had travelled with a responsible tour agency that clearly explained how to behave in the country.
“We know well what is acceptable and we inform people clearly of the boundaries they should not cross,” he said.
Collings estimated that his company had taken between 4,000 to 5,000 people to North Korea over the past five years, including 800 to 1,000 Americans. But the agency has said it will no longer be organising tours for US citizens.
Other travel agents are considering similar action. “We are discussing this matter with our Korean travel partners, as well as the foreign organisations active in Pyongyang that we liaise with, and are currently reviewing the issue,” Beijing-based Koryo Tours said. US-based Uri Tours is taking a similar approach.
The US Department of State has a warning in place advising American citizens against travelling to North Korea owing to the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention.
In Hong Kong, Eastern Vision and its affiliate GLO Travel stopped accepting US passport holders once Warmbier was arrested.
“It was a rather conservative stance, but we make everyone’s safety our priority,” company co-founder Rubio Chan said. “We felt that Americans could be at a higher risk.”
He said travel in North Korea could be safe and relaxing, but visitors should be aware of the rules and act responsibly.
However, the current situation has not dampened his desire to return to the reclusive nation. “I would like to go back and talk to them with respect,” he said.