President Trump said Tuesday that the death of American college student Otto Warmbier after an imprisonment in North Korea was “a total disgrace.”
“It’s a disgrace what happened to Otto,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “It should never, ever be allowed to happen. And frankly, if he were brought home sooner, I think the results would have been a lot different.”
Mr. Warmbier, a 22-year-old student at the University of Virginia, died Monday after being flown home from North Korea in a coma after more than one year in prison. He had suffered brain injury, the cause of which isn’t known.
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North Korea had jailed the Ohio resident after he allegedly stole a propaganda poster.
The president said Mr. Warmbier “should have brought home that same day.”
“The results would have been a lot different,” Mr. Trump said. “And I spoke with his family. His family is incredible … but he should have been brought home a long time ago.”
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