Posted on 06/13/2017 8:23:39 AM PDT by drewh
– University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier has been medically evacuated from North Korea in a coma after being detained for 17 months, his parents told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Warmbier, 22, is due to arrive home in Cincinnati on Tuesday evening, having been evacuated through a U.S. military base in Sapporo, Japan.
Warmbier has been in a coma for more than a year, since shortly after his last public appearance during his trial in Pyongyang in March 2016.
His release was announced Tuesday morning in Washington by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson did not discuss Warmbier’s medical condition.
Tillerson called President Trump at 8:35 a.m. Tuesday to inform him that Warmbier was on an airplane en route to the United States, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details. The last instruction the president left Tillerson was: “Take care of Otto,” the official said.
There had been no word of Otto since his sentencing in March last year, until suddenly, last Monday (JUNE 5), North Korean representatives contacted American counterparts and told them that student was in a coma.
Trump was immediately informed and ordered Otto’s medical evacuation, according to people with knowledge of the process. “This is a Trump-led effort,” one said.
The logistics were organized by Thursday last week, then Joseph Yun, the deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of North Korea, traveled to Pyongyang on a military medical plane, together with doctors, to bring Otto out. They landed in Sapporo on Tuesday night local time, before traveling on to Cincinnati.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It sounds like Trump was instrumental in securing his release. No thanks to Obama.
PRAY PRAY. PRAY
How chilling. I hope he’s not just coming home to die; maybe something can be done.
Need to sign in to the WP?
FORGET IT
Norks must be tired of providing student their excellent, free medical care from their top notch doctors and decide to "release" him for inferior American treatment!
Maybe Dennis Rodman as well.
Had a case of food poisoning. Lose conscioness when given a pain pill or sleeping pill.
Or they knew they could no longer keep his condition a secret when Rodman visited
Trump has a soft spot for Rodman. It was clear with his times on Celebrity Apprentice.
This might have been a coordinated effort behind the scenes.
Rodman might make a good cut out for NK..if he can stay sober
At least the US knows what happened to him; unlike some service members who likely “disappeared” without a trace.
THAT is how a President reacts, BO.
Not by throwing Americans under the bus and doing everything you can to harm us, leave us in harm’s way and flip us the bird.
You have no legacy here.
spits
I was wondering if we traded Rodman for the student LOL...
I hope so. That would be a good demonstration of the art of the deal.
North Korea, Pakistan, Mexico, Congo, Africa in general, and Greater Arabiastan are all places one should never visit.
Says he got Botulism. Probably from the dog meat they were feeding him.
Most of Europe is soon to be on that list as well.
This was the fellow who pulled down a propaganda poster, presumably to sneak home as a souvenir.
Don’t go to NK. But if you do, don’t play games.
He has put his family through more hell even than himself.
Yep, Obaba did nothing and the kid goes into a coma.
Assuming they did not lie about this crime.
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