I agree with many people that there is no reason to ever visit NOKO. However, if it was your child, you would want the US Govt to do everything in their power to help. I am just glad that this administration has been successful in getting this kid home. Now all we can do is hope and pray for his recovery.
I thought your post was satire until I googled the travel company.
Agreed. Like you, then I realized it was for real.
Did anyone else wonder why Otto was carried by the arms and legs off the plane? I thought it was strange because I assume people who are medically evacuated would be on some sort of stretcher. Wouldn’t carrying him that way subject him to bruising and injury?
Also, I wonder if Dennis Rodman is at greater or lesser risk being in NK than an unknown American.
No, they’re saying drowning/suffocation or electrical shocks (torture)- and that the time lapsed may be related to how long it takes for traces to disappear.
Unresponsive wakefulness is what the doctors said… How horrible. There is no chance of recovery. This is not coma.
Makes me sick to my stomach. How incredibly sad.
Do not let your children go to places like this! ( NOT a condemnation of these parents. They probably thought it was completely safe.)
Parents aren’t always consulted about travel choices made by young adults. I know we aren’t when our kids go places. They do tend to mention it, at least in passing but haven’t asked for permission in years.
@GnocchiB I did notice how they carried him. It sounds like he is able to be sat up in a chair possibly -just cant get there himself -he has to be but there.
It really is just heartbreaking
Imagine how they treat their own citizens who have no one to turn to for help.
Oh, there’s no doubt that if he had been a North Korean, they wouldn’t have kept him alive.
I think it should be said that there is no evidence that the person taking down the poster (in the low-quality video) is Otto Warmbier. For one thing, the person’s height is wrong. The entire episode appears to me to be a fabrication. My guess is that the North Koreans mistakenly thought that Warmbier was a spy.
Otto Warmbier’s father alleged that Young Pioneer Tours lures Americans into going to North Korea on their supposedly safe trips, in order to provide hostages for the North Koreans to hold. While I don’t know whether that is the case or not, I think it should be investigated; and if it is true, I think the US should take all possible action against the people who run Young Pioneer Tours.
At a minimum, I think that after Young Pioneer Tours inevitably closes down, all of its employees should be traced, and any new businesses they start should be clearly identified to any Westerners traveling anywhere, so that no one else falls victim.
I feel really terrible for the Warmbier family. This is a complete tragedy. It is hard for me to believe the grace with which Otto’s father conducted himself at the press conference. Simply amazing.
In early life, I was a pacifist. At this point, I am starting to ask myself, “What would the Israelis have done?”
This is what I thought. And truthfully how do we know he wasn’t a recruit? He was evidently an extremely bright guy. This is why I do not judge him or the parents (besides, what parent can control a young adult?) for being there. None of us know the true reason he was there.
Maybe I have read too much Daniel Silva, Tom Clancy, et al. Another great book is The Book of Honor (about the CIA). It is conceivable that he was being trained. Not saying that he was either. Just that none of us know.
His dad was compelling in his his press conference. My heart goes out to their family. How devastating.
http://www.youngpioneertours.com/otto-warmbier-updated-statement
Check out this statement by Young Pioneer Tours – seems rather cavalier given the loss of Otto’s life. Also, in another section, they claim travel to North Korea is perfectly safe “despite what you may have heard”.
Taking college students, who are known for poor judgment, to a place where a simple mistake can cost you your life, is just really not OK.
Disgusting!
A lot of college-aged Americans probably do not know anymore what the “Young Pioneers” were.
It is a tragedy for sure but as others have said it was extremely poor judgement for a US citizen to go there on a holiday, or to Iran, Syria, etc. Everyone would want understandably want government intervention if it were their child or loved one but hopefully most see that this is not possible for us or the Israeli’s…NK is a sovereign country and it is not reasonable for the US to put lives at risk every time one of our citizens exercises bad judgement.
Just as someone posted above, perhaps Otto was a spy…just as possible as many other theories being bandied about. Remember the Americans that were supposedly hiking near the Iranian border…that also seemed to be an unlikely story but who knows…
Oh jeez, maybe he was a spy? Sounds like North Korean propaganda. They probably think everyone from the US is a spy, as we must be jealous of their marvelous creations and way of life. 
I’m not usually big on government control, but I think I wouldn’t mind if our govt actually put a travel ban on US citizens traveling to North Korea. These stories end up so badly for people, we are just used as hostages.
What I wrote was that the North Koreans may have mistakenly thought that Otto was a spy, not that he was!
Take a look at the phony video of “Otto”–there are two men in it. Who are they really? Some people in North Korea know.
I would like to see the following actions taken:
- Air drop of food,clothing, and medical supplies all across North Korea, aside from the capital. Advise the Chinese we are doing this.
- Leaflet the countryside with photos of people executed by the North Korean regime and “lost.” Just ask, “Where are they?”
- Voluntary tourism boycott by everyone from Western nations, not just the US.
- Someone needs to figure out how to dismantle a government network that runs on terror. This is a widespread problem, and we have had plenty of historical examples. All-out war does not have to be the solution.
Well how do spies get trained? Do they start out on a big mission or something very small? He was very smart, going to UVA . . .(?).
Then again, he is going to stand out in North Korea any way you slice it. So maybe not. Maybe it was just a horrible mistake.
I recently read an account of some AP or Reuters journalists who had some crazy stuff happen when NK opened a street with a bunch of new buildings. No doubt the NK leadership is extremely paranoid with westerners.
All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t jump to judgment.