Trump criticizes North Korea over death of US student

President Donald Trump said North Korea was "brutal" after an American student released by Pyongyang last week died.

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters.

"Bad things happened, but at least we got him home to his parents," AFP quoted US President Donald Trump as saying on June 19 at the White House, after the news of Otto Warmbier's death, 22 years old, was announced. He criticized North Korea for being "brutal" in this incident.

In a separate statement, Mr Trump offered his "deepest condolences" to Warmbier's family on his "final moments".

"There is nothing more heartbreaking than a family losing a child in the early stages of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Warmbier's family, friends and all who loved him," Trump wrote.

According to Mr. Trump, Warmbier's fate strengthens the US administration's determination to prevent similar tragedies from happening, and the US "once again condemns North Korea's brutality."

Warmbier, 22, a student at the University of Virginia, was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by North Korea's supreme court for "stealing a propaganda banner" from a hotel in Pyongyang.

North Korea returned Warmbier to the country on June 13 in a coma, believed to be caused by botulism. American doctors said Warmbier died of severe brain damage, but they have not yet found the cause of the damage.

According to VNE