"Anti-State Activity"
"[Otto Warmbier] was arrested while perpetrating a hostile act against the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] after entering it under the guise of tourist for the purpose of bringing down the foundation of its single-minded unity at the tacit connivance of the U.S. government and under its manipulation."
Korean Central News Agency
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| University of Virginia student and Ohio native Otto Fredrick Warmbier is seen in an undated photo posted to his Facebook page |
"We don't have enough information about this case, but it's always a risk for any U.S. citizen to go to North Korea."A 21-year-old American has ample time now to muse on the thrills of exciting the notice of North Korean authorities as someone plotting against the people's republic. If he can get close to a computer any time soon he can update his Facebook postings with some material about his impressions of North Korea's prison system. He appears to have a penchant for unusual experiences, and he certainly appears self-motivated to expose himself to such experiences.
"You have to be careful in a way that we wouldn't think of as normal."
John Delury, American international relations expert, Yonsei University, Seoul
"In addition to continuing political pressure to exhort the DPRK to improve human rights, it is also now imperative to pursue criminal responsibility of the DPRK leadership."
Marzuki Darusman, UN special rapporteur
It is not yet known, while it may be at some future date, how he feels about being the fourth Westerner to be incarcerated in the lunatic asylum ruled by its Great Leader Kim Jong Un. They may, at some time, wish to compare notes. It certainly is a puzzle to most people who have curious streaks about the world at large why it is that some among them court this kind of situation where they make themselves vulnerable to becoming some despot's victim.
Why it is that people with such an intense sense of adventurous curiosity seek such challenges from which no influence is capable of extracting them; they are left to their own survival devices under extremely trying circumstances that could and should be avoided at all costs. Is it bragging rights that so consume their attention as to pursue these unusual adventures? The ambition to write a book about perseverance under trying circumstances?
In some instances people are taken hostage while attempting to undertake a mission of some sort on behalf of a body such as the United Nations. But a recent college graduate embarking on a New Year's holiday deciding to take it in Pyongyang, North Korea? He is described by the University of Virginia as an "intellectual risk taker". He might consider trying to persuade his captors that he is a personal friend of Dennis Rodman sent to give greetings to the Great Leader.
In the meantime, he can take comfort with the U.S. State Department's message that "The welfare of U.S. citizens is one of the Department's highest priorities."
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| Otto Frederick Warmbier, from the University of Virginia, was in North Korea for a five-day New Year trip and was detained at Pyongyang airport on January 2 ahead of a flight back to China |
Labels: Adventure, Child Welfare, North Korea
posted by Pieface @ Monday, January 25, 2016
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