Warmbier family rebukes Trump over comments on their son's death | NK News - North Korea News

Warmbier family rebukes Trump over comments on their son's death | NK News - North Korea News




Warmbier family rebukes Trump over comments on their son’s death
Warmbiers say that no "excuses of lavish praise" can change North Korea's human rights record


Leo Byrne
March 1st, 2019


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Otto Warmbier’s parents on Friday issued a statement apparently taking issue with remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump who said he believed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had no knowledge of their son’s death.

Fred and Cindy Warmbier’s Son Otto was held captive for 17 months in North Korea and eventually returned in a coma, he died shortly after getting back to U.S. soil.

“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto,” the Warmbiers said in a statement.

“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

The statement follows comments from the U.S. President who told journalists that he believed Kim Jong Un had no knowledge of Otto Warmbier’s circumstances.

“In those prisons and those camps you have a lot of people, and some really bad things happened to Otto, some really, really bad things,” Trump told reporters after the summit in Hanoi.

“But he tells me he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word.”

Trump’s comments sparked immediate criticism in the U.S., though Greg Scarlatoiu Executive Director at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea told NK News the U.S. president’s options were likely limited at the time.

“Undoubtedly, Kim Jong-un sits at the top of the repressive system that killed Otto Warmbier. That said, it is important to note that President Trump did bring up Otto in his conversation with Kim Jong-un,” Scarlatoiu said.

“He said he trusted Kim, but he didn’t have too much of a choice there. Under the circumstances, had he said he didn’t trust Kim, we would have been back to measuring launch buttons.”

Scarlatoiu added that he hoped the Warmbiers’ statement would refocus attention on North Korea’s poor human rights record, adding that Trump often mentioned the DPRK’s human rights violations before the Pyeongchang Olympics.

But Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director, Human Rights Watch issued a statement disputing that Kim would have had no knowledge of Otto Warmbier’s treatment.

“It’s absolutely appalling Donald Trump is letting North Korea off the hook for the death of this young man. In a totalitarian state like North Korea, Kim Jong Un would know every aspect of the trial and imprisonment of a high-value hostage like Otto Warmbier,” Robertson said.

“Instead of making excuses for Chairman Kim, Trump should have demanded to know what happened to Otto, who was responsible for the rights abuses that caused his brain damage, and what was done to hold the perpetrators accountable.”

Later on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said via social media that his comments had been misinterpreted and that he held the DPRK responsible for Otto Warmbier’s death.

“I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible …” Trump tweeted.

“… for Otto’s mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often!”

Otto Warmbier was arrested in North Korea in late 2015 and was sentenced in 15 years imprisonment and hard labor three months later.

But he was returned to the U.S. in a coma after suffering an unknown neurological injury. Pyongyang said Warmbier had contracted botulism and slipped into the coma after taking a sleeping pill.

A U.S. medical team said Otto had suffered an extensive loss of brain tissue, consistent with the brain being deprived of oxygen, though could not find evidence of botulism or torture.

Featured image: KCNA