North Korea sentences U.S. student to hard labor;Washington condemns punishment

[Gerald]

North Korea's supreme court sentenced American student Otto Warmbier, who was arrested while visiting the country, to 15 years of hard labor on Wednesday for crimes against the state, a punishment Washington condemned as politically motivated.

The U.S. State Department called the sentence "unduly harsh" and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "increasingly clear" that North Korea sought to use U.S. citizens as pawns to pursue a political agenda.

Warmbier, a 21-year-old University of Virginia student, was detained in January for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang, North Korean media said previously.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-no...-idUSKCN0WI0BN

A harsh penalty for such a young man, perhaps he may appeal.


Note: 2016-03-18

[GoldenRivet]

I don't currently - and may never - understand why these Liberal artsy-fartsy types feel it necessary to visit North Korea. Especially if they have poor impulse control like this kid does. I mean seriously, try to steal a political sign in a country that routinely executes people for mundane minor offenses? How stupid can you really be?

I have very little sympathy for him

do i think the punishment is harsh? of course i do

are they just trying to make an example out of a westerner? of course they are

would he have gotten into this much trouble anywhere else in the world? save for maybe Iran and one or two other places... probably not

would it have been more reasonable to imprison him for 30 or 60 days and then ban him from the country or something? certainly, yes

but still, he had to know the risks of going to NK, he surely knew that the country was a hell hole... like i said, no sympahty "bra" take your licks and leave it up to the diplomats to yank your arse out of the fire you created.

if they can

otherwise, see you in 15 years if you dont die of malnutrition before then

[Reece]

It should be illegal to go there, is it actually marked as a tourist spot?
If so what airline would actually go there?

[d@rk51d3]

Originally Posted by Reece

It should be illegal to go there, is it actually marked as a tourist spot?
If so what airline would actually go there?

Probably fly to China and walk in.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Reece

It should be illegal to go there, is it actually marked as a tourist spot?
If so what airline would actually go there?

Like this:

http://www.m1key.me/photography/road_to_north_korea/

http://www.m1key.me/photography/oste...ary_pyongyang/

[Reece]

What a horrible place to visit let alone to live, and trying to escape to China is definitely a no no!!
I do feel sorry for the citizens there.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

I don't currently - and may never - understand why these Liberal artsy-fartsy types feel it necessary to visit North Korea. Especially if they have poor impulse control like this kid does. I mean seriously, try to steal a political sign in a country that routinely executes people for mundane minor offenses? How stupid can you really be?

I have very little sympathy for him

do i think the punishment is harsh? of course i do

are they just trying to make an example out of a westerner? of course they are

would he have gotten into this much trouble anywhere else in the world? save for maybe Iran and one or two other places... probably not

would it have been more reasonable to imprison him for 30 or 60 days and then ban him from the country or something? certainly, yes

but still, he had to know the risks of going to NK, he surely knew that the country was a hell hole... like i said, no sympahty "bra" take your licks and leave it up to the diplomats to yank your arse out of the fire you created.

if they can

otherwise, see you in 15 years if you dont die of malnutrition before then

I don't think I can say it any better. The State Dept. has said although travel to North Korea isn't banned, They highly recommend that people of U.S citizenry do not travel there. What do people then do ? They travel to the DPRK which flies in the face of the State Dept. warnings.

https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...l-warning.html

I think the punishment is harsh but also very predictable. At some point in time, one has to be responsible for the decisions they make .

[Betonov]

He'll be there for a few months and then traded for Fat Kims US imported lunch.
But China should do it. If the State dept. says it's on their own risk, the American taxpayer should not bear the cost. But we can't leave him there for a dumb stunt. A murderer ok, let him rot, but a simple moron ?? He suffered more than enough just trough the trial.


Quite a few Slovenes travel to N. Korea, a group per year me thinks and everyoen gets home safely
Maybe there's a larger risk if you're from the US becasue you're a potential propaganda target.

[U505995]

I wonder what kind of hard labor he'll be doing? Baking cake for Kim Jung Un perhaps?

[Jimbuna]

Most stupid of the young man and will probably be used as payment for a shipment of food or medical aid in a few months time.

[Aktungbby]

Warmbier's confession reads as follows:

I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country, I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life!

BOW a little lower you idiot! Classic 'showcase Commie trial-lots of press-on hand for this !?? for stealing a 'propaganda' sign off a hotel allegedly: His greed and stupidity led to this.

On February 29, 2016, he confessed to stealing a piece of North Korean propaganda from his hotel's staff-only section to take back to the United States as a "trophy" for someone from his home-town church who offered to pay him for it with the gift of a car worth $10,000.

OR his basketball skills were sub par:

[Skybird]

Why spending a voluntary visit to NK in the first...? There are innocent places, then there are potentially riskful places where the risk within certain limits "can be calculated", and then there are places were nothing can be predicted and taken for sure. NK is one place of this latter category. If you have no damn good reason, a real substantial need to go there - don't.

[Rockin Robbins]

I'll bet the poor kid is just a bargaining chip for something the NKs want.

If they were smart they would have let him take the propoganda. They should have OFFERED it to him. What good is propoganda if it doesn't seek a wider audience?

Then again, he should have asked and used that logic as a persuasion tool. But in the final analysis, if the NKs want to take a hostage to use as a bargaining (or poker) chip they can use any excuse they want.

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

I don't currently - and may never - understand why these Liberal artsy-fartsy types feel it necessary to visit North Korea. Especially if they have poor impulse control like this kid does. I mean seriously, try to steal a political sign in a country that routinely executes people for mundane minor offenses? How stupid can you really be?

I have very little sympathy for him

do i think the punishment is harsh? of course i do

are they just trying to make an example out of a westerner? of course they are

would he have gotten into this much trouble anywhere else in the world? save for maybe Iran and one or two other places... probably not

would it have been more reasonable to imprison him for 30 or 60 days and then ban him from the country or something? certainly, yes

but still, he had to know the risks of going to NK, he surely knew that the country was a hell hole... like i said, no sympahty "bra" take your licks and leave it up to the diplomats to yank your arse out of the fire you created.

if they can

otherwise, see you in 15 years if you dont die of malnutrition before then

Really?
He deserves 15 years of hard labor in a country that hates him and ultimately will ruin his life one way or another, because he is an idiot who underestimated what could happen and stole a stupid banner?

[Bera]

Originally Posted by Sea Demon U-48

I wonder what kind of hard labor he'll be doing? Baking cake for Kim Jung Un perhaps?

Unfortunately, no. He will probably die doing soviet-style hard labour, like mining or cutting logs.

Kudos to Bill Clinton. He went to North Corea and came back with those two american girls that were convicted some years ago. I think he deserved a prize or a medal for this.