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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The hospital director in North Korea, who treated an American student who died last year after he was detained in the country, rejected new charges that he had succumbed to the death penalty. torture.
PHOTO FILE: Fred Warmbier expresses himself under the watch of his wife Cindy at a symposium on international cooperation means to urge the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPKR) to take concrete steps to improve the situation Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, United States, May 3, 2018. REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton / File Photo
The director of the Pyongyang Hospital, quoted by the Korean official news agency, said Saturday that information outlining the fate of Otto Warmbier, 22, died a few days after his back in the coma in the United States, were a "total distortion of the truth."
"The American doctors who came … to help the repatriation of Warmbier acknowledged that his health indicators were normal and sent an insurance letter to our hospital stating that they shared the result of the diagnosis of the doctors from our hospital, "said the unidentified director saying.
"Now, the question is: what is the hidden reason for these American doctors who are trying to make a difference in the cause of Warmbier's death," the report said, adding that medical assessments "should not be influenced by selfish purpose or political interest. "
He added that Warmbier's "health indicators were normal" at the time of his release and that he should instead open an investigation into the cause of his sudden death after his arrival in the United States.
KCNA's report came a few hours after Voice of America's Korean radio service reported on a complaint filed by Warmbier's parents alleging that their son had been tortured while in detention.
VOA cited statements filed in support of the prosecution of Otto Warmbier's former dentists alleging that he suffered a trauma to his teeth.
On his return to his hometown of Cincinnati, neurologist Daniel Kanter, who was Warmbier's senior physician, said Otto suffered brain damage after an interruption of blood flow in the brain for five to twenty minutes. .
"Because the injury was so serious, it was unlikely that Mr. Warmbier was with medical personnel willing to intervene to resuscitate him at the time of the injury," Kanter was quoted as saying.
North Korea has blamed botulism and the ingestion of sleeping pills in Warmbier State. The coroner who examined Warmbier said he had found no sign of botulism, adding that there was no evidence of tooth trauma or fracture.
US President Donald Trump accused last year that Warmbier was tortured, but he also held an unprecedented summit with the North Korean leader this year and plans to hold another summit to persuade him to abandon his nuclear weapons program threatening the United States.
Report by David Brunnstrom; Edited by Nick Zieminski
