The 22-year old American college student, Otto Warmbier, who fell into a coma while imprisoned in a North Korea labor camp, arrived in Cincinnati Tuesday night on a medical evacuation flight.
Warmbier has been in North Korean custody for a year-and-a-half. At the time of his arrest, the University of Virginia undergraduate, was visiting the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, as part of a student tour group in January 2016.
He was arrested and accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster from an employee area of his hotel. Following a brief trial broadcast by North Korean state television, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison and hard labor. In tears, he apologized for his actions.
State Department officials said Warmbier’s release followed secret talks between U.S. and North Korean diplomats. Joseph Yun, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea, met with North Korean officials in Oslo in May and reached agreement for Swedish diplomats to visit Warmbier. Sweden represents U.S. diplomatic interests in North Korea.
North Korean officials last week told Yun of Warmbier’s medical condition. Yun and two physicians flew to Pyongyang and visited Warmbier Monday. They demanded his release and North Korea complied on Tuesday, according to the State Department.
The State Department said President Donald Trump had been consulted on the matter, and White House spokeswomen Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday night that “bringing Otto home was a big priority for the president”.
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