North Korea arrests US student, cites ‘hostile act’

And the US State Department “strongly recommends” against all travel to North Korea, warning that “US citizens have been subject to arrest and long-term detention for actions that would not be cause for arrest in the United States”.

Thomas was surprised to hear the news of Warmbier’s arrest.

Warmbier was actually taken prisoner on January 2 at the Pyongyang airport, just before his return flight to China after a five-day tourist swing through North Korea. “Send your love his way please!” another posted on Facebook. A spokesman for UVA said that the university “has been in touch with Otto Warmbier’s family and will have no additional comment at this time”.

NEW YORK – Two prominent free-speech organizations are criticizing publisher Scholastic’s recent pulling of a children’s picture book about slavery and calling it a “shocking and almost unprecedented case” of self-censorship.

“He’s one of those kids who are extra well-liked”. “He’s a vivacious, kind and involved member of our community”. Tour groups are also told beforehand that many Westerners have no diplomatic recourse should something go wrong, especially if you’re an American.

Warmbier was a gifted soccer player at the high school, said Wyoming head coach Steve Thomas.

Later this year, there are plans for Seoul, Washington and Tokyo to set up a new military network to share intelligence on Pyongyang’s nuclear activities on a nearlyreal-time basis, said South Korea’s Defence Ministry.

Ji Min-kang, a North Korean who successfully fled the country, told the Guardian in October that, “You can not see the real North Korea as a tourist”.

It was announced Friday that a college student from Wyoming, Ohio was detained in North Korea, making him the second person detained there from southwest Ohio in the past two years.

“They’re tough people, and they don’t give an inch”, said Hall.

It was not known if Park’s push for a five-nation meeting would happen soon.

Warmbier was on Young Pioneer’s “New Year’s Party Tour”, which, according to the itinerary on the company’s website, was to include watching fireworks in Kim Il Sung Square in the heart of Pyongyang, and an optional helicopter ride.

The 21-year-old is now enrolled at the University of Virginia.

He has also studied at the London School of Economics and lists under his current experience a managing directorial role at an alternative investment fund. According to Reuters, the adventurous Warmbier has previously visited Cuba, Ireland, and Israel.

“One of the problems is we don’t have a lot of leverage with North Korea because we don’t have a relationship with them to speak of that’s good”, he said. There were no reports from North Korean officials of the father or any other Americans having been detained. It said a man identified as Kim Dong Chul was being held by the North and said authorities had accused him of spying and stealing state secrets.

South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-Se said excluding North Korea from the dialogue process would serve as a powerful signal of the global community’s anger and frustration.

In the past, Pyongyang has used detained USA citizens to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.