As U.S. ban on travel to North Korea kicks in, tourists say their farwells

U.S. tourist Nicholas Burkhead speaks to the media after he arrived from Pyongyang at the airport in Beijing, China August 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING (Reuters) - American tourist Nicholas Burkhead said he'd be happy to return to his latest holiday destination, with its beautiful scenery, great food and friendly people.

The problem is, the destination was North Korea and a U.S. State Department ban on travel to the isolated country takes effect on Friday.