The U.S. travel ban prohibiting American passport holders from traveling to North Korea went into effect at the beginning of the month.

Since the ban was announced earlier this summer, both media and government sources have cited three important exemptions: humanitarians, journalists, and those whose travel is considered "in the national interest." However, there was little concrete information on how exactly these exemptions can be obtained, and what the criteria there are to determine if an activity falls within them.