North Korea court sentences U.S. student to 15 years hard labor

The Foreign Desk ^ | 03/16/2016 | Reuters

[Fali_G]

North Korea's supreme court sentenced American student Otto Warmbier to 15 years of hard labor for crimes against the state, China's Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was detained by the North in January for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his hotel in Pyongyang and had confessed to crimes against the state, North Korean media said previously.

[Hot Tabasco]

From a political standpoint, this kid now becomes a bargaining chip for the NKs.........I wonder if there are any NKs sitting in a SK or US prison that the NKs would like to get back........

[tet68]

Break rocks in the warm North Korean sun.
Lose weight on the Juche diet.
Lose 20 pounds in your first week.
Sign up now and get 25 craving crusher sessions FREE.

[WKUHilltopper]

What idiot goes to a prison totalitarian country on vacation? Now you see the world as it is outside the womb.

Poor kid. He’ll never get out alive.

[DH]

Serves the stupid kid right.

Why the hell would anyone in their right mind want to go to North Korea in the first place. Worse yet, try to impress his girlfriend by stealing a propaganda article off the wall.

He embarrassed America by showing just how our millennial youth look at manners, rules, ethics and every other good charistic America used to have.

I hope he really enjoys his life for the next years and maybe he will come out (if he lives) a better man.

You can’t feel sorry for him at all. Did everyone notice that he was sitting there spewing tears, crying like a little child and praying....somehow hoping that they would cave in and let him go out and play in the yard since they scared him enough?

[redfreedom]

Some of what prompted my reply is a close relative, still in high school. She wants to be a lesbian, she learned in school it’s OK. She’s excited about going to college where she wants to learn how to paint graffiti on rail road cars and buildings. One parent is for all this, the other is against it.

[SamAdams76]

He'll never do the 15 years. He's basically being used as a pawn for NK to get a "pound of flesh" out of the U.S. in exchange for his return.

This kid better hope Trump gets elected. He'll probably get him out of there much quicker.

Anyway, what a bonehead move to go to NK for "tourism?"

[lowbridge]

His statement:

“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!”

So its Obamas fault!

[NCC-1701]

How long does it take to strip those units for cleaning and how long does it take to put all that metal on? I’ll take the toss salad our generals wear. It looks far more professional and neater.

[ArmyTeach]

Why would anyone want to travel to NK in the first place?

[Eagles6]

Absolutely no idea.

[Organic Panic]

Hmm. Where to go for vacation...

Sydney...
Paris...
Venice...
Rome...

Nah. I’ll go to PyongYong

[KittyKares]

When he gets out, this will make a great episode for the TV series “Locked Up Abroad” — if it is still running in 15 years.

[pterional]

I think going to North Korea is safer than going to Mexico, Middle East or even some places in the US (Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans , Baltimore ect.)
Break a law in a foreign country and you roll the dice. Steal something in Saudi Arabia they cut your hand off, spit gum out in Singapore and you get 90 lashes, get drunk in North Korea and rip down government propaganda looks like 15 years of hard labor.

So I think this kid was drunk and thought he pull a college prank and try to steal a poster. He quickly realized the poster was lithographed on metal and the size of a blackboard and couldn't steal it. It was probably to big and heavy to put back up. He was caught and put through psychological stress. The NORKs told him confess , read this propaganda script that bashes Christianity and the US Government or die. He is screwed but probably will not serve the 15 years.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

I don’t feel bad for him. I feel bad for his family though. Weird story.

[SamAdams76]

I wonder if he's actually doing hard labor yet. Strange story. But who would want to go to North Korea as a tourist? Was it for the coveted stamp on his passport or did he have a misguided view of socialism due to the whole Bernie Sanders phenomenon?

I think every Bernie Sander's supporter should spend at least a week in North Korea, Cuba or Venezuela to see what socialism is actually like.