Warmbier, 21, was arrested on 2 January as he was trying to leave North Korea and accused of committing “hostile acts”.
He was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel while visiting North Korea in January.He later appeared on state TV apparently confessing and saying a church group had asked him to bring back a “trophy” from his trip.
North Korea sometimes uses the detention of foreigners as a means of exerting pressure on its adversaries.The KCNA state news agency said at the time he had gone to North Korea with the intention “to destroy the country’s unity” and that he had been “manipulated” by the US government.
At the end of February he appeared at a tearful press conference in Pyongyang saying he had “committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel”.
“The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim,” he was quoted as saying.
US student Otto Warmbier has been given 15 years hard labour in North Korea for crimes against the state. However State media has not yet reported his sentencing.
