What happened to the death of an American college student released by North Korea?

On the afternoon of June 19th, the family of Otto Warmbier, an American college student released from North Korea, announced that his son Warmbier had died.

It is reported that 22-year-old Warmbier has been in a coma since he returned to the United States. Previously, the DPRK claimed that the coma was caused by food poisoning, but Warmbier's father did not accept this statement. American doctors found no evidence of food poisoning, but found that Warmbier's brain was seriously damaged.

Warmbier has been receiving treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Ohio since he was released from North Korea on the 13th of this month.

Warmbier was arrested for trying to steal a poster in a hotel during his trip to North Korea in January 216, and was sentenced to 15 years of reeducation through labor. After being detained for 17 months, after negotiations between the United States and North Korea, North Korea claimed that Warmbier was released for humanitarian reasons.

However, on the 15th, American authorities said that Warmbier's nervous system was seriously damaged, and the related reasons could not be determined. Some American media even more directly said that Warmbier had become a "vegetable".

American authorities said that Warmbier's condition was "stable", but "his nerves were obviously seriously damaged".

At present, they are not sure the cause of his nerve injury.

It is understood that in December 215, Warmbier traveled to North Korea.

However, on January 1, 216, he was arrested at Pyongyang Airport on suspicion of taking down the billboard hanging on the hotel wall and taking it back to the United States.

In March 216, the Supreme Court of North Korea sentenced Warmbier to 15 years' reeducation through labor for conspiring to subvert the country.

Warmbier's family said earlier that "Warmbier has been in a coma since he was sentenced to reeducation through labor in North Korea last March". On 15th, Warmbier's father, Fred Warmbier, said at a news conference that he didn't believe his son was guilty of what North Korea called "conspiracy to subvert the state" and that his son had been treated cruelly during his more than one year in detention in North Korea.

During Warmbier's detention by North Korea, Fred criticized the Obama administration for its poor handling, trying to keep a low profile and failing to win the release of the hostages.

It is reported that when Obama was in office, Fred went to Washington dozens of times to meet with many officials, including then Secretary of State Kerry, but nothing came of it. Since this year, he has been interviewed by the media several times, and went to the State Council, USA, to meet with the US Special Representative for North Korea, Yin Rushang.

In response to Fred's criticism, Daniel Russell, former US Assistant Secretary of State for the State Council, defended the Obama administration, saying that the Trump administration's approach in seeking North Korea to release American hostages is no different from before. Robert king, the former special envoy of the United States for human rights in North Korea, said that this was a problem for North Korea, and Warmbier completely ignored the State Council's explicit reminder on the website: "Strongly warn" American citizens not to travel to North Korea. Some US senators said that as far as the current situation is concerned, the US-DPRK talks will be "increasingly difficult"

Some media speculated that North Korea's release of Warmbier may be a signal to ease relations with the United States. However, Warmbier is in a coma at present, which may cast a new shadow on the relationship between the United States and North Korea.

Senator Rob Portman, representing Ohio, has met with diplomats from the United States, North Korea and Sweden many times to coordinate the release of Warmbier. He said: relations between the United States and the DPRK have further deteriorated after North Korea's missile test, and the talks between the United States and the DPRK have become more and more difficult and it has become increasingly difficult to achieve results.