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| North Korea sentences U-Va. student to 15 years of hard labor in prison | North Korea sentences U-Va. student to 15 years of hard labor in prison |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| SEOUL — The University of Virginia student being held in North Korea was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel in Pyongyang. | SEOUL — The University of Virginia student being held in North Korea was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel in Pyongyang. |
| Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old from Cincinnati, was convicted after a one-hour trial at North Korea’s Supreme Court, China’s Xinhua news agency, which has a bureau in Pyongyang, reported Wednesday. Japan’s Kyodo News and the Associated Press also reported the verdict. Diplomats from the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which represents American interests in North Korea because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with the country, were present at the trial. | |
| [U-Va. student held in North Korea ‘confesses’ to ‘severe’ crime] | [U-Va. student held in North Korea ‘confesses’ to ‘severe’ crime] |
| Anthony P. de Bruyn of the University of Virginia said, “The University is aware of the recent media reports regarding Otto Warmbier and remains in touch with his family. We will have no additional comment at this time. ” | |
| Warmbier’s mother did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. | |
| Warmbier is being held at a particularly sensitive time, when annual military drills between the United States and South Korea are coinciding with international sanctions against North Korea’s regime to punish it for its recent nuclear test and missile launches. | Warmbier is being held at a particularly sensitive time, when annual military drills between the United States and South Korea are coinciding with international sanctions against North Korea’s regime to punish it for its recent nuclear test and missile launches. |
| North Korea always protests the joint military drills in South Korea because it sees them as a pretext for an invasion, but Pyongyang’s reaction is particularly ferocious this year because the allies are practicing “decapitation strikes” that target North Korea’s leadership and its nuclear and missile facilities. | North Korea always protests the joint military drills in South Korea because it sees them as a pretext for an invasion, but Pyongyang’s reaction is particularly ferocious this year because the allies are practicing “decapitation strikes” that target North Korea’s leadership and its nuclear and missile facilities. |
| Furthermore, the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, coupled with direct measures taken by the United States, Japan and South Korea, are the toughest yet and could inflict a significant amount of pain on the North Korean regime. | Furthermore, the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, coupled with direct measures taken by the United States, Japan and South Korea, are the toughest yet and could inflict a significant amount of pain on the North Korean regime. |
| Warmbier, an economics major, was arrested at Pyongyang airport on Jan. 2, at the end of a five-day tour to North Korea. But it wasn’t until three weeks later that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime announced it was holding the student for an unspecified “hostile act” against the state. | Warmbier, an economics major, was arrested at Pyongyang airport on Jan. 2, at the end of a five-day tour to North Korea. But it wasn’t until three weeks later that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime announced it was holding the student for an unspecified “hostile act” against the state. |
| [U-Va. student detained in N. Korea described as ‘buoyant,’ inspiring and driven] | [U-Va. student detained in N. Korea described as ‘buoyant,’ inspiring and driven] |
| At the end of February, during a highly orchestrated news conference in Pyongyang, the student confessed to a “very severe and pre-planned” crime. | At the end of February, during a highly orchestrated news conference in Pyongyang, the student confessed to a “very severe and pre-planned” crime. |
| Reading from handwritten notes, Warmbier said he tried to steal a political sign promoting “the [North] Korean people’s love for their system” from the hotel, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. | Reading from handwritten notes, Warmbier said he tried to steal a political sign promoting “the [North] Korean people’s love for their system” from the hotel, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. |
| “The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim,” Warmbier told the mainly North Korean reporters. He was wearing a beige jacket with a shirt and tie, and he was clean shaven. | “The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim,” Warmbier told the mainly North Korean reporters. He was wearing a beige jacket with a shirt and tie, and he was clean shaven. |
| Previous Americans detained in North Korea also have been brought by authorities before the media to “confess” their crimes, with the detainees told what to say and the reporters told what to ask. | Previous Americans detained in North Korea also have been brought by authorities before the media to “confess” their crimes, with the detainees told what to say and the reporters told what to ask. |
| Analysts expect that Warmbier also was directed in this way to deliver the statement, in which the student said he was impressed by North Korea’s “humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself.” | Analysts expect that Warmbier also was directed in this way to deliver the statement, in which the student said he was impressed by North Korea’s “humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself.” |
| Warmbier went on a trip organized by Young Pioneer Tours, one of a handful of travel companies that takes adventurous tourists into North Korea, while on his way to Hong Kong for a financial course for his U-Va. studies. | Warmbier went on a trip organized by Young Pioneer Tours, one of a handful of travel companies that takes adventurous tourists into North Korea, while on his way to Hong Kong for a financial course for his U-Va. studies. |
| Americans are not banned from traveling to North Korea, which has in recent years been promoting tourism and has loosened restrictions on American visitors. But with the increasing number of U.S. citizens running into trouble there, the State Department strongly advises against travel to the country. | |
| Several U.S. citizens have been held in Pyongyang in recent years, usually because of activities relating to Christianity, and also have been sentenced to hard labor. | Several U.S. citizens have been held in Pyongyang in recent years, usually because of activities relating to Christianity, and also have been sentenced to hard labor. |
| [The strange ways North Korea makes detainees confess on camera] | [The strange ways North Korea makes detainees confess on camera] |
| North Korea tries to use them as bargaining chips and releases them after high-profile interventions that it can use for its domestic propaganda purposes, portraying the visits by officials as Americans coming to pay homage to North Korea. | North Korea tries to use them as bargaining chips and releases them after high-profile interventions that it can use for its domestic propaganda purposes, portraying the visits by officials as Americans coming to pay homage to North Korea. |
| Former president Bill Clinton went to Pyongyang to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee in 2009, while former president Jimmy Carter traveled to the North Korean capital the following year to collect Aijalon Gomes, a Boston man who entered the country illegally. | Former president Bill Clinton went to Pyongyang to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee in 2009, while former president Jimmy Carter traveled to the North Korean capital the following year to collect Aijalon Gomes, a Boston man who entered the country illegally. |
| More recently, James R. Clapper Jr., the Director of National Intelligence, went to Pyongyang at the end of 2014 to free three Americans being held there. | More recently, James R. Clapper Jr., the Director of National Intelligence, went to Pyongyang at the end of 2014 to free three Americans being held there. |
| One of them, Kenneth Bae, a Korean American missionary, had been sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor for “hostile acts against the republic,” including proselytizing and attempting to overthrow the regime. Bae’s sister described how he was having to do manual work on a farm for eight hours a day, six days a week. | One of them, Kenneth Bae, a Korean American missionary, had been sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor for “hostile acts against the republic,” including proselytizing and attempting to overthrow the regime. Bae’s sister described how he was having to do manual work on a farm for eight hours a day, six days a week. |
| Another, Matthew Miller from California, had been sentenced to six years’ hard labor after ripping up his tourist visa on arrival in North Korea. | Another, Matthew Miller from California, had been sentenced to six years’ hard labor after ripping up his tourist visa on arrival in North Korea. |
| At U-Va., Warmbier was selected as an Echols Scholar, a special four-year academic program for fewer than 250 students in each class. Those chosen are described as “intellectual risk-takers” who have shown “academic excellence, intellectual leadership, and evidence of the ability to grapple with complex topics,” according to the university’s website. | At U-Va., Warmbier was selected as an Echols Scholar, a special four-year academic program for fewer than 250 students in each class. Those chosen are described as “intellectual risk-takers” who have shown “academic excellence, intellectual leadership, and evidence of the ability to grapple with complex topics,” according to the university’s website. |
| Susan Svrluga contributed reporting from Washington. | |
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