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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Otto Warmbier: North Korea to release imprisoned American university student | Otto Warmbier: North Korea to release imprisoned American university student |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that North Korea has released imprisoned American university student Otto Warmbier. | US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that North Korea has released imprisoned American university student Otto Warmbier. |
| He said in a statement that: "At the direction of [Donald Trump], the Department of State has secured the release". No further details were provided. | |
| Mr Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, went with a tour group from Beijing to Pyongyang in January 2016 despite US State Department travel warnings. | Mr Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, went with a tour group from Beijing to Pyongyang in January 2016 despite US State Department travel warnings. |
| He was arrested and convicted while trying to leave the country after his group's “New Year’s Party Tour”. | He was arrested and convicted while trying to leave the country after his group's “New Year’s Party Tour”. |
| The charge, according to North Korean news agency, was “perpetrating a hostile act against" the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - the official name for the reclusive Communist nation. | The charge, according to North Korean news agency, was “perpetrating a hostile act against" the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - the official name for the reclusive Communist nation. |
| Mr Warmbier allegedly attempted to steal a propaganda banner from the hotel in which he was staying, but it remains unclear whether this is true. | |
| Approximately six weeks after his arrest, the Ohio native was sentenced to 15 years hard labour. | Approximately six weeks after his arrest, the Ohio native was sentenced to 15 years hard labour. |
| In previous situations when the US government has wanted an American citizen released, at least one senior official has had to travel to Pyongyang in order to secure their release. | |
| Former President Bill Clinton went in 2009 in order to get two journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, released and former CIA director James Clapper visited in November 2014 to bring home Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, who was charged with espionage. | |
| It does not appear than any senior officials from the Trump administration have made a trip to North Korea. | |
| Mr Trump, according to a released transcript, called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "a madman with nuclear weapons" in a phone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last month. | |
| In late April however, he told CBS that: "At a very young age, [Mr Kim] was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie." | |
| Defence Secretary James Mattis declared North Korea “most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security,” before the House Armed Services Committee on 12 June, just hours before Mr Warmbier's release was announced. | |
| “North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them has increased in pace and scope,” Mr Mattis said. |