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American student Otto Warmbier at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang last year. Jon Chol Jin

'It's a brutal regime': Trump condemns North Korea after imprisoned US student's death

Otto Warmbier was released last week after nearly 18 months in detention in the country.

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has slammed the “brutal regime” in Pyongyang after it was confirmed a US student released from North Korea in a coma last week had died.

Otto Warmbier was released last week after nearly 18 months in detention in the country. The 22-year-old was medically evacuated to the US last Tuesday, suffering from severe brain damage.

He died yesterday, 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.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump said:

It’s a brutal regime.

He added:

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.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson added:

We hold North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbier’s unjust imprisonment, and demand the release of three other Americans who have been illegally detained.

Warmbier 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 US officials decried as far out of proportion to his alleged crime.

PBS NewsHour / YouTube

‘At peace’

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 yesterday that he first appeared anguished when he first arrived home, but died “at peace”.

Kim Jong-Un’s regime 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 age, Warmbier’s severe brain injury was most likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest cutting the blood supply to the brain.

‘No excuse’

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 Jim Mattis has dubbed “a clear and present danger to all.”

The death also brought attention to North Korea’s human rights record. A Washington-based rights group tied Warmbier’s fate to many others “starved, tortured, brutalised and killed in North Korea’s political prison camps”.

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.

Following Warmbier’s death, the tour group that arranged his trip to North Korea said it would no longer take Americans into the isolated country.

“The devastating loss of Otto Warmbier’s life has led us to reconsider our position on accepting American tourists. There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result,” China-based Young Pioneer Tours said in a statement.

“Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high. The way his detention was handled was appalling, and a tragedy like this must never be repeated,” it said.

© AFP 2017 with reporting by Daragh Brophy 

Read: Portugal in mourning as firefighters continue to battle deadly wildfire >

Read: Family calls for improved cardiac services at Waterford after man dies during ambulance transfer >

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    Mute Donnacha Bhoicaire
    Favourite Donnacha Bhoicaire
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:02 AM

    Was watching a Netflix documentary on one of their prison camps and why you would take the risk is beyond me

    74
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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:12 AM

    @Donnacha Bhoicaire: Probably because he was a young, naive student and, like many commentators here, particularly students and those on the left, on the likes of the Kims, Assad, Ghaddafi, etc., he probably didn’t believe the MSM and Western governments’ belief that North Korea was as bad as they say it is.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:21 AM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: and it is the nature of the species to want to go where we shouldn’t!!!

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    Mute Lisa Dorothy
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:21 PM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: The left don’t think Assad, Ghaddafi etc. are as bad as the media say? I think the former is probably worse!

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    Mute John Weldon
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:06 AM

    How many people have died in US custody over the past 18 months???

    74
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    Mute Thomas McGilly
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:11 AM

    @John Weldon: Ah yeah. Whatabouttery from an apologist. How unusual.

    111
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    Mute John Weldon
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:17 AM

    @Thomas McGilly: Whatabouttery?? “Medical tests carried out last week in the United States offered no conclusive evidence as to the cause of his neurological injuries” “but showed no signs of physical trauma” doesn’t quite tally with “The awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible”

    No evidence, no physical trauma, but its big bad North Korea what done it.

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    Mute Thomas McGilly
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:57 AM

    @John Weldon: Healthy man goes to North Korea, a human rights eutopia. Goes to prison, serves hard labour in a country known for its commitment to rehabilitation and reform. After 3-4 months ends up in a coma and is transferred a year later. Doctors cannot find evidence to confirm North Korean explanation. Meanwhile, commenter on the Journal tries to link death of man in North Korea to deaths of Americans in police custody. Logic at its best right there.

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    Mute Tadhg
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:01 AM

    @John Weldon: read the NYT article about it on their homepage; they mention how he had an excessive loss of brain tissue due to a prolonged absence of blood circulated to the brain. He was most likely repeatedly drowned. US officials had negotiated with NK officials over 20 times in the 18 months he was held and his poor health was never mentioned.

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    Mute John Weldon
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:22 AM

    @Tadhg: Most likely drowned. Case closed. Is that your clinical opinion?

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    Mute EvieXVI
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:58 AM

    @John Weldon: of course you’re right- N Korea are the victims here…

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    Mute Lisa Dorothy
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:23 PM

    @Tadhg: Or maybe he hung himself and they got him down before he was completely dead. I am not sure we will ever know. I just don’t understand why they let him go know.

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    Mute Tadhg
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    Jun 20th 2017, 5:13 PM

    @Lisa Dorothy: sorry, I’m not arriving at the conclusion he was drowned. I read there was something in his blood which suggested this.

    I’d say NK wouldn’t want him dying on their turf. Softens the blow of their actions.

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    Mute john Appleseed
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:44 AM

    I don’t believe he was just a student over in North Korea and obviously neither did they. I am sorry he lost his life. Trump we have enough war. Stay out of North Korea please.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:48 AM

    @john Appleseed: what do you think he was so? A spy of some sort? It was a tour of a university.

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    Mute john Appleseed
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:51 AM

    @lavbeer: well they are hardly giving tours of their so called nuclear labs

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    Mute Keith Fay
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:52 AM

    @john Appleseed: what a ridiculous thing to say. If you know something the rest of earth doesn’t you should notify the authorities

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:54 AM

    @john Appleseed:
    Why wouldn’t you believe him? North Korea have been poaching tourists and any other non-nationals they could get a hold of for years.
    It’s an absolutely brutal regime and god knows what torture that poor guy was subjected to before he was sent back to America to die. Why on earth would you chose to believe the North Korea government on this issue??!

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:58 AM

    @john Appleseed: no I doubt it. I get why they would want to go there but doubt the tour bus went anywhere unaccompanied. The young fella robbed a poster as a souvenir. If he was under instruction as a spy he wouldn’t do that. Surely yes?

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:05 AM

    @john Appleseed:
    Have you seen some of the photos taken earlier on in the trip with fellow students? All looks pretty bona fide to me.

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    Mute Thinck
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:12 AM

    @john Appleseed:

    Ludicrous

    If he was a spy then he was without doubt the most incompetent spy in history!

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:23 PM

    @Thinck:
    Who’s more

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:42 PM

    *Who’s more likely to steal a propaganda poster for a prank – a fully trained professional spy or a student out on a bender?!
    :0D

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    Mute Lisa Dorothy
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:20 PM

    @lavbeer: If he did he is the worst spy ever!

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    Mute Claire Masterson
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    Jun 20th 2017, 11:25 AM

    R.I.P thoughts and prayers are with his family

    32
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    Mute mark kenny
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:02 AM

    The food is great in Pyongang.Look how well/over fed Kim Yon Un looks.The meatballs are the dogs bollox.

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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:33 AM

    @mark kenny: Yuk, I’ll never eat meatballs again.

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    Mute Sean Wong
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    Jun 20th 2017, 9:30 AM

    A condemning, is that all? Is this what Trump promised “Make America Great Again”?

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    Mute Tony Hartigan
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    Jun 20th 2017, 11:16 AM

    Why did he steal that political poster ????

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:46 PM

    @Tony Hartigan:
    Because he was a student – that’s the sort of thing students do….

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    Mute Minom Pnom
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    Jun 20th 2017, 5:36 PM

    @Tony Hartigan: there were no traffic cones left

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:51 PM

    The North Koreans only released him when they were certain he would die. Clearly something was done to him to cause him to become comatose.

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    Mute Paul Coughlan
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:23 PM

    What about Guantanamo Bay.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 11:54 PM

    @Paul Coughlan:
    What about whataboutery?

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    Mute mark kenny
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:36 AM

    Stealing anything in North Korea and i think there’s something not right with that person.I saw the way he begged for forgiveness to the Koreans on a video clip last night.I’d have given him an Oscar for the performance.

    15 years for stupidity he should have got.Anyway he got out after 18 months.The remission in North Korea is nearly as generous as ours over here.

    Sad that he died but it was totally preventable.Bad mistake in a very bad land.

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    Mute EvieXVI
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:40 PM

    @mark kenny: are you for real??? He was a young man having fun. And now he’s dead. How many young(and old) people make silly mistakes? 15 years and there was remission – he was sent home to die.

    29
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    Mute Stephanie Lynch
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    Jun 20th 2017, 4:50 PM

    @mark kenny: your an absolute tosser! Insensitive fool…

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    Mute mark kenny
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    Jun 20th 2017, 5:27 PM

    @Stephanie Lynch:

    Don’t steal if your holidaying in Pyongang,Steph.Not even a mini tub of shower gel.You should be ok then.

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    Mute Quentin Moriarty
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    Jun 20th 2017, 8:18 PM

    @mark kenny: if he was your kid you wouldn’t be so sanctimonious .

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    Mute Giovanni Casermaggio
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:07 PM

    Not much to say everyone is going to condemnedms the brutal regime. .The only thing I can say we also know how this people are you can go to jail just because they don’t like your name so if you decide to visit a terrorist country you will have to be very carefully

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    Mute Maureen Thornton
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    Jun 20th 2017, 5:16 PM

    I would like to no why he was in north korea it is not a safe place

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    Mute Graham Gilligan
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:27 PM

    Rich coming from a country which has death squads, dictators, torturers and proxy-terrorist head-choppers on it’s pay roll.

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    Mute mark kenny
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    Jun 20th 2017, 1:00 PM

    If he did steal a poster (prob never be proved) it is plain stupidity.He’s not a kid either.22 years old there is no excuse for doing that.

    First of all,why would anyone want to go to that country?Especially Americans.It beggars belief.

    Secondly,why act the maggot when your in a very well known lunatic asylum of a country,led by a little fat maniac thats nuttier than squirrel shit?

    Where was next stop on his tour?Saudi Arabia where he was going to drink a can of Dutch Gold walkibg down Main Steet in Riyadh?

    Who knows what the hell happened him that led to this horrific death.I wonder will the real truth ever come out.

    14
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    Mute Sean Wong
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    Jun 20th 2017, 10:36 AM

    F22, F35, B-2, Super Carriers, …. they are all bullshit. Tax payers are paying billions dollars to develop these super weapons, but they can’t protect a single American innocent life.

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Jun 20th 2017, 12:45 PM

    @Sean Wong:
    What did you expect them to do – send a supercarrier into the middle of Pyongyang to rescue him??

    9
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