North Korea's foreign ministry lashed out at the US move, claiming that it is part of Washington's hostile policy toward Pyongyang.

"The move is a dirty scheme aimed at limiting human exchanges to prevent US citizens from seeing North Korea as it is and a failure of its hostile policy. This reflects Washington's view that it regards us as an enemy," a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency.

Washington's travel ban came after US college student Otto Warmbier was released in a coma from North Korea in June following a 17-month detention and died days after a medical evacuation.

Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for what North Korea called a subversive act of stealing a propaganda sign.

The North claimed that a sovereign state has a right to punish criminals under the law, defending itself against the angry reaction from the US following Warmbier's death.

North Korea said that it has no intent to block Americans hoping to visit it.

"The door is always open to all Americans who want to visit North Korea with good faith and see its real state," the spokesman said. (Yonhap)