The foreign ministry said Friday it has lifted travel bans for parts of Cambodia and Venezuela, citing improved security conditions in the areas. The ministry lowered the travel alert for Cambodia's Bokor Mountain area in Kampot Province, as well as the cities of Bavet and Poipet, from the highest warning of Level 4 to Level 3, which advises Korean nationals to leave the area. The travel ban had been in place since October last year but was lifted as security conditions improved, the ministry said, noting that reports of crimes involving Koreans fell 94 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier. The ministry also downgraded its Level 4 travel alert for Venezuela's states of Zulia, Tachira, Apure and Sucre to Level 3, citing an improvement in the security situation. The travel ban had been imposed in November last year due to military tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The ministry, however, extended the travel ban through Jan. 31 next year for 10 countries — Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Mali and Iran — as well as 12