North Korea says arrested United States university student

Warmbier was in North Korea for a five-day New Year’s trip and was detained at Pyongyang airport on January 2, four days before the nuclear test, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an official at Young Pioneer Tours.

Tony Hall, a former diplomat and OH congressman, played a role in the release of Jeffrey Fowle, who was held by North Korea for almost six months. Government officials say he committed a “hostile act” which threatened the country’s unity-which apparently are grounds to keep him from returning to his family in America.

“Right now, three weeks into it, he’s gotten over the initial shock of it, but he’s still trying to process”. Fowle says his thoughts and prayers are with them.

Warmbier grew up in Cincinnati and attended Wyoming High School from 2009-2013.

North Korea said Friday that it had arrested an American university student for alleged anti-state acts. The date of his arrest for allegedly “perpetrating a hostile act” wasn’t clear, nor were any details of what he did.

The U.S. embassy in Seoul told NK News on Friday afternoon that it was aware of the report about Warmbier, and said further comment would be later provided by Washington. He said he doesn’t expect he’ll be called on this time to lobby the North Korean government to release Warmbier.

The University of Virginia’s online student directory lists Otto Frederick Warmbier as a commerce undergraduate. After ringing in the new year with claims of its first successful hydrogen bomb test, North Korea is now calling on the United States and the world community to accept it as a nuclear power, jettison the pursuit of punitive sanctions and allow it to focus on what it really wants: build up the nations troubled economy.

That report came as a surprise to many observers, for not following the usual protocol of authorities publicizing the case via state media ahead of inviting worldwide media to cover the story.

Fowle said in 2014 he had left a Bible in a North Korean nightclub in hopes it would reach underground Christians.

While the vast majority of tourists to North Korea are from China, roughly 6,000 westerners visit the country annually. “The welfare of USA citizens is one of the department’s highest priorities”, said Mark Toner, the department’s deputy spokesman.

Ohio’s governor is urging President Barack Obama’s administration to push North Korea to release a US university student who is being held there.