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Agence France-Presse

Otto Warmbier, the US student released in a coma last week after nearly 18 months in detention in North Korea, died on Monday, leading President Donald Trump to decry the “brutal regime” in Pyongyang.
The 22-year-old was medically evacuated to the United States on Tuesday last week, suffering from severe brain damage. He died six days later surrounded by relatives in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.
“The awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible,” the family said in a statement announcing Warmbier’s death.
The young man was on a tourist trip when he was arrested and sentenced in March last year to 15 years hard labour for stealing a political poster from a North Korean hotel, a punishment the United States decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime.


Trump lashed out at Pyongyang following news of his death, voicing compassion for his family.
“It’s a brutal regime,” he said during a White House event. “Bad things happened but at least we got him home to his parents.”
In a separate written statement, Trump said, “Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency.”
“The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.”
Earlier, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for the release of other Americans being held by Pyongyang: “We hold North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbier’s unjust imprisonment, and demand the release of three other Americans who have been illegally detained.”

Doctors last week revealed that Warmbier had suffered severe neurological injuries, and described him as being in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness”, opening his eyes and blinking, but showing no signs of understanding language or of being aware of his surroundings.
His family said on Monday that he first appeared anguished when he first arrived home, but died “at peace”,
Kim Jong-un’s government claimed Warmbier fell into a coma soon after he was sentenced last year, saying the college student had contracted botulism and been given a sleeping pill.
Medical tests carried out last week in the United States offered no conclusive evidence as to the cause of his neurological injuries, and no evidence of a prior botulism infection. Warmbier’s doctors said he had suffered extensive tissue loss in all regions of his brain, but showed no signs of physical trauma.
They said that given his young age, Warmbier’s severe brain injury was most likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest cutting the blood supply to the brain.

Warmbier’s release came amid mounting tensions with Washington following a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, focusing attention on an arms buildup that Pentagon chief James Mattis has dubbed “a clear and present danger to all”.
The young man’s death also brought attention to North Korea’s human rights record. A Washington-based charity tied Warmbier’s fate to many others “starved, tortured, brutalised and killed in North Korea’s political prison camps”.
“Millions of unknown North Koreans are subjected to the brutality of the Kim regime,” the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said in a statement.
Warmbier’s father, Fred, lashed out at North Korea last week, telling a news conference, “there is no excuse for any civilised nation to have kept his condition secret and denied him top-notch medical care for so long”.
In a statement on Monday, Warmbier’s family said it believed the young man had found a peace of sorts after being flown home.
“When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable – almost anguished,” it said. “Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed – he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.”

Three more US citizens are currently being held by North Korea. Two were teachers at a Pyongyang university funded by overseas Christian groups, and the third a Korean-American pastor who was accused of espionage for the South.
The harsher tone adopted by the US following Warmbier’s death may get support from China, North Korea’s closest ally. “Pyongyang’s gross human rights violations will further deteriorate the strategic credit quality of North Korea as an asset for China that has occurred under the Kim Jong-un government,” said Thomas Byrne, president of the New York-based Korea Society.
On Wednesday, Tillerson and Mattis will welcome State Councillor Yang Jiechi and General Fang Fenghui, the PLA’s chief of staff, to the State Department. Susan Thornton, the US acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said this first edition of the new “US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue” would focus on North Korea.
“We continue to urge China to exert its unique leverage as North Korea’s largest trading partner, including by fully implementing all UN Security Council sanctions,” she said, referring to efforts to halt Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Additional reporting by Robert Delaney


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North Korea

Donald Trump blames ‘brutal’ North Korea for death of American student Otto Warmbier

Otto Warmbier (left) with friends. Photo: Sanjana Sekhar

WYOMING, OH - JUNE 15: Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old college student who was released from a North Korean prison on Tuesday, holds a press conference while wearing the jacket his son wore when he gave a forced confession in North Korea June 15, 2017 in Wyoming, Ohio. Otto Warmbier spent 17 months in a North Korean prison after being sentenced to 15 years for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. Warmbier is currently in a coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN

Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old college student detained and imprisoned in North Korea, is carried off of an airplane at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. Warmbier arrived in Ohio after being released by North Korea, where he was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged anti-state acts. His parents have said he has been in a coma and was medically evacuated. (Sam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)

Otto Warmbier’s tragic journey to North Korea and back

Otto Warmbier. Photo: LinkedIn

epa06038136 (FILE) - A file handout photo provided by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)shows Otto Frederick Warmbier (L) in relation to his trial held by The Supreme Court of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea, 16 March 2016(reissued 19 June 2017). According to media reports on 19 June 2017 citing a statement by Warmbier's family, Otto Warmbier has died a few days after his returtn from North Korea to the US. EPA/KCNA/HANDOUT SOUTH KOREA OUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A photo taken on November 27, 2016 shows the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, where US student Otto Warmbier was alleged to have removed a political poster from staff quarters. The tour agency that took US student Otto Warmbier to Pyongyang said June 20, 2017 it would stop taking Americans to the Stalinist state after the 22-year-old died following 18 months in North Korean detention. Warmbier was medically evacuated to the United States last week, suffering from severe brain damage. He died six days later in his home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, with US President Donald Trump blaming Pyongyang's "brutal regime" for his plight. / AFP PHOTO / Ed JONES

Otto Warmbier with the Wyoming High School senior boys soccer players. Photo: Cincinnati.com/Rod Apfelbeck

Otto Warmbier - prom king 2012 at Wyoming high school. Photo: Cincinnati.com/Marilyn Cone

WYOMING, OH - JUNE 15: Blue and white ribbons line the streets of Wyoming, Ohio as a show of support for the Warmbier family June 15, 2017 in Wyoming, Ohio. Otto Warmbier, who was released from a North Korean prison on Tuesday, spent 17 months in the prison after being sentenced to 15 years for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. Warmbier is currently in a coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

REFILE - CORRECTING SURNAMES Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier, speaks during a news conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

Dr. Jordan Bonomo (L), a Neurointensivist, Dr. Daniel Kanter (C), Medical Director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, and Dr. Brandon Forman (R), a Neurointensive Care Specialist, field questions about the condition and treatment of Otto Warmbier during a news conference at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 29, 2016 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 1, 2016 shows US student Otto Frederick Warmbier (R), who was arrested for committing hostile acts against North Korea, speaking at a press conference in Pyongyang. US student, Otto Frederick Warmbier, evacuated from North Korea has died on June 19, 2017 according to his family. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA / Handout / North Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CL

How North Korea’s hostage playbook backfired with Otto Warmbier

Otto Warmbier during his trial. Photo: Reuters

Fred Warmbier, father of an American university student who was released in a coma after being detained in North Korea for 17 months, attends a press conference in Wyoming, Ohio, on June 15, 2017. His son Otto has a severe brain injury, doctors said. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

US student freed by North Korea has brain damage, doctors say

From left: Dr Jordan Bonomo, a neurointensivist, Dr Daniel Kanter, medical director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, and Dr Brandon Forman, a neurointensive care specialist. Photo: Reuters

WYOMING, OH - JUNE 15: Friends and supporters of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old college student who was released from a North Korean prison on Tuesday, gather together to show their support for the Warmbier family June 15, 2017 in Wyoming, Ohio. Otto Warmbier spent 17 months in a North Korean prison after being sentenced to 15 years for allegedly attempting to steal a propaganda poster. Warmbier is currently in a coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

A person believed to be Otto Warmbier is transferred from a medical transport airplane to an awaiting ambulance at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 29, 2016 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 1, 2016 shows US student Otto Frederick Warmbier (R), who was arrested for committing hostile acts against North Korea, speaking at a press conference in Pyongyang. Otto Warmbier, the US student released by North Korea this week after falling into a coma while in a labor camp, has suffered "severe neurological injury," a hospital spokesman said June 15, 2017.The 22-year-old from Cincinnati spent more than a year in detention after being arrested for stealing a political poster from a hotel. His family have said he was "terrorized and brutalized" by Kim Jong-Un's regime. REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

Dr. Daniel Kanter (R), Medical Director of the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, speaks about the statement of the condition and treatment of Otto Warmbier during a news conference at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

epa06030110 The school colors of blue and and white are displayed in front of Wyoming High School in support for Otto Warmbier in Wyoming, Ohio near Cincinnati, USA, on 15 June 2017. The twenty-two year old college student, who was convicted of stealing a political banner last year and sentenced to fifteen years hard labor in North Korea, was released and returned in a coma on 13 June. Otto Warmbier is being treated for a 'severe neurological injury' according to a University of Cincinnati Medical Center spokesperson. EPA/MARK LYONS

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Pyongyang freed Otto Warmbier last week, saying he fell into a coma soon after being sentenced last year for trying to steal a propaganda poster


US president lashes out at Pyongyang following the death of Otto Warmbier, the American student who arrived back home in a coma after being released from a prison in North Korea
