[ad_1]
President Trump will be dining on Saturday at the White House with the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died in 2017 after being held captive in North Korea for more than a year.
Fred and Cindy Warmbier, as well as some of Otto's friends, will have a private dinner at the White House with Trump, Fox News confirmed Saturday.
TRUMP WISHES "BEAUTIFUL" OTTO WARMBIER AFTER CRITICISM ON NORTH KOREA
Warmbier was found guilty of attempting to steal a poster while he was in Pyongyang and was imprisoned for 17 months. He was eventually released but returned to the United States in a vegetative state and died later.
Doctors in Cincinnati said Warmbier had suffered severe brain damage, although they did not know what caused it. North Korea denied mistreating, claiming that he had fallen into a coma as a result of botulism and sleeping pills.
According to the Associated Press, the ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, was scheduled to attend dinner Saturday night.
Trump said in 2017 that Warmbier had been "tortured beyond belief" by North Koreans, but had been criticized earlier this year for claiming to have taken dictator Kim Jong Un "at word" when he had declared that he was not involved in the death of Warmbier.
"I think something very serious has happened to him," Trump said in February. "I do not think leadership was aware."
Fred and Cindy Warmbier issued a brief statement claiming that the regime was actually responsible for the death of their son:
"We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we have to talk. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or praise can change that. "
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump then congratulated Warmbier and said that his remarks had been "misinterpreted" and that "of course I hold North Korea responsible for the ill-treatment and death of Otto".
"Most importantly, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a formidable symbol of passion and strength, which will continue for years to come. I like Otto and think of him often! He tweeted.
Eric Shawn of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link