As there’s no evidence that a clear video of Otto Warmbier breaking any rules or laws exists, much of this is a moot point; why are we giving North Korea the benefit of the doubt rather than the college student whose death they caused?
But in either case, I find the deference being paid to the laws of other countries astounding. Yes, of course you need to be aware of and follow the laws of countries you are visiting as a matter of self-preservation – but a law that is absurd and unjust doesn’t deserve respect. A country could pass a law making it a capital crime to drive a mile above or below the speed limit. Again, it would behoove anyone travelling there to be aware of that rule, but if someone were executed for driving 57 mph in a 55 zone, I don’t think the appropriate response would be “Well, countries have a right to make their own laws, and he should have followed this one.” Which is true, but also tone-deaf and besides the point once you’re dealing with a tragedy of this kind.
I would certainly never go to North Korea, and wouldn’t have even before this incident. But in terms of relative risk, I’m not actually sure Otto was making such an abominably stupid decision. In raw numbers, how many Americans have traveled to NK in the past ten years, and how many have been detained? Of this number, how many were detained who were there purely as tourists, as opposed to those who were on mission trips or there as journalists? Now, if Otto did deface a propoganda poster, that changes the calculus, but if he didn’t – again, not a risk I would take, but not necessarily total idiocy. At least before this incident, it was more reasonable to avoid NK because of not wanting to prop up a brutal dictatorship than because there was any significant chance of winding up in a gulag.
As for white privilege – I’m skeptical. Plenty of minority teens and young adults do really stupid things, after all, whether or not they have to money to make international travel a reality.