The US State Department has ordered a travel ban to North Korea for US passport holders. The restriction will be enforced beginning September 1, by which time all passport holders have been ordered to leave the country.

"The Department of State has determined that the serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention represents imminent danger to the physical safety of United States nationals traveling to and within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," the Federal Register, the official US government journal, said Wednesday, based on a July 21 memo from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

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Journalists and humanitarian workers can apply for exemption, the State Department announced Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The US has previously advised Americans not to travel to North Korea.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have escalated dramatically in recent months. Dueling missile tests and other incidents, such as the death of Otto Warmbier – an American student tourist to North Korea held captive there for about 18 months before being returned to the US with a severe neurological injury – have added to the strained relations.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) claims that President Donald Trump is considering war on North Korea if it continues its missile tests and nuclear weapons program.