An American student who was arrested in North Korea apologized Monday, begging the Korean people and government for forgiveness for his "crime. "
North Korea said it arrested Otto Warmbier, a 21 -year-old University of Virginia undergraduate student, last month for allegedly "perpetrating a hostile act" against the regime. Warmbier was presented to the media in Pyongyang on Monday, where he apologized for trying to steal a political banner he said he wanted as a trophy for a church member in his hometown of Wyoming, Ohio, who was the mother of a friend. It wasn't clear if he made the admission voluntarily. Warmbier told reporters he arrived in Pyongyang via Beijing on Dec. 29. "On the early morning of Jan. 1, 2016, I committed my crime, of taking out the important political slogan from the staff-only area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which aimed at harming the work ethic and the motivation of the Korean people," he told reporters. Warmbier, who was staying at the hotel, said he was detained at Pyongyang International Airport the following day.
He said the church member offered him a used car worth $10,00() if he brought back an important
political slogan to be hung in the Friendship United Methodist Church as a "trophy," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
"She continued to say that by taking this slogan, we would harm the unity and motivation of the North Korean people and show this country an insult from the West," he added, according to the news agency. "l have been very impressed by the Korean government's humanitarian treatment Of severe criminals like myself, and of their very fair and square legal procedures in the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," he said. "I understand the severity of my crime and I have no idea what sort of penalty I may face, but I am begging to the Korean people and government for my forgiveness, and I am praying to the heavens so that I may be returned home to my family."
Warmbier was arrested while visiting the country with Young Pioneer Tours, an agency specializing in travel to North Korea. The State Department warns against travel to the North.
North Korea said he traveled to the country as a tourist but with the real aim of destroying the unity of North Korea with "the tacit connivance of the U .S. government." It said Warmbier was acting under "the U S. government's acquiescence and control," South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported The State Department said it was aware of the reports that a U.S. citizen was detained In North Korea.
While campaigning in New Hampshire as a Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich called Warmbier's arrest "inexcusable." He urged President Obama to "make every effort to secure Mr. Warmbier's immediate release and keep (his) family constantly apprised."
Works Cited
Onyanga-Omara, Jane. "U.S. Student Detained in North
Korea Apologizes." USA TODAY. N.p., 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016
Works Cited
Onyanga-Omara, Jane. "U.S. Student Detained in North
Korea Apologizes." USA TODAY. N.p., 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016
Response:
The US student being held in North Korea was clearly violating North Korean law and possibly sovereignty. There appears to still be a lot of unknown information about this case, but if the student and press are telling the truth, then it seems that the student is at fault in a foreign country and the US government will probably do very little about it, and rightly so. It upsets me to think that high officials in the US want President Obama to intervene with this case and make it so that this student is safe, which is no problem. However, this student made his choice, a faulty one, and honestly just needs to grow up. Although, it's also interesting in seeing how the North Korean government might be telling the student to say things to the press such as that North Korea has been treating him well and that he is impressed with the humanitarian policies that North Korea has expressed. Maybe he wasn't forced to say that, yet I found it difficult to believe that someone being held at fault would seriously consider the treatment of sever criminals, such as the student himself.
In relation to bias, it would as usual that the article would have some bias against North Korean and its government. I'm not fully aware of the full statement that North Korea released about this student and his crime, but the Western Press doesn't seem to agree with how the North Korean government is handling it.
The US student being held in North Korea was clearly violating North Korean law and possibly sovereignty. There appears to still be a lot of unknown information about this case, but if the student and press are telling the truth, then it seems that the student is at fault in a foreign country and the US government will probably do very little about it, and rightly so. It upsets me to think that high officials in the US want President Obama to intervene with this case and make it so that this student is safe, which is no problem. However, this student made his choice, a faulty one, and honestly just needs to grow up. Although, it's also interesting in seeing how the North Korean government might be telling the student to say things to the press such as that North Korea has been treating him well and that he is impressed with the humanitarian policies that North Korea has expressed. Maybe he wasn't forced to say that, yet I found it difficult to believe that someone being held at fault would seriously consider the treatment of sever criminals, such as the student himself.
In relation to bias, it would as usual that the article would have some bias against North Korean and its government. I'm not fully aware of the full statement that North Korea released about this student and his crime, but the Western Press doesn't seem to agree with how the North Korean government is handling it.
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