North Korea Shows Detained US Student Otto Warmbier on State TV

Mar 05, 2016, 13:36

North Korea announced in late January it had arrested Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate student.

The student, from OH, added: "I am begging to the Korean people and government for my forgiveness, and I am praying to the heavens so that I may be returned home to my family".

A sobbing Warmbier confessed to the crime on North Korean state television, saying he had made "the worst mistake of my life".

Warmbier also said the crime he committed was "very severe and pre-planned" and that he "never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in [North Korea]", adding that he was urged by a church in OH, a secretive university organization, and the Central Intelligence Agency to insult the North Korean state.

If North Korea captured and failed to return Warmbier, the church pledged to pay $200,000 in charitable donations to his mother, the captive claimed.

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It is unclear whether he was forced to speak, or coerced by Korean officials within the oppressive regime.

North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners, and has used jailed American citizens in the past to exact high-profile visits from the U.S. officials, including Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper.

This video includes images from Getty Images. He had been staying at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which is located on an island in a river that runs through Pyongyang.

Yet travel to North Korea, permitted for Americans since 2010, is not only legal, but growing, attracting an eclectic mix of curious and devout tourists reflected in the list of past detainees, which includes journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two college students, and numerous people accused of spreading Christian scripture.

OH governor John Kasich, who is campaigning to be the Republican candidate in the United States presidential election, has described the student's arrest as "inexcusable" and demanded his immediate release.

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He left a Bible in a local club hoping a North Korean would find it, which is considered a criminal offense in North Korea. The U.S. State Department says they are aware of the situation, but are keeping quiet for now because of, "privacy reasons".

While the vast majority of tourists to North Korea are from China, roughly 6,000 Westerners visit the country annually, though the United States and Canada advise against it. "I don't have any comment at this time" he told the press.

Warmbier's parents have not heard from him since his arrest, according to a statement from his family provided by the University of Virginia. The United States does not have an embassy in North Korea, and relies on the Swedish Embassy to help coordinate services for Americans in the country. The State Department warns against travel to the North.

Warmbier had entered North Korea as part of a New Year tour organized by China-based Young Pioneer Tours. The reporters were sentenced to 12 years in work camps, on a charge of illegal border crossing and filming.

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