# Judge Orders North Korea To Pay $500 Million In Student’s Death



## Atthatday (Dec 24, 2018)

*S. Judge Orders North Korea to Pay $500 Million in Student's Death*

By ERIC TUCKER / AP
4:24 PM EST

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered North Korea to pay more than $500 million on Monday in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died shortly after being released from that country.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington ruled that North Korea should pay damages to Fred and Cindy Warmbier, the parents of the University of Virginia student.

Warmbier was a University of Virginia student who was visiting North Korea with a tour group when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in March 2016 on suspicion of stealing a propaganda poster. He died in June 2017, shortly after he returned to the U.S. in a coma and showing apparent signs of torture while in custody.

The judgment is largely a symbolic victory for now, since there is still no mechanism to force North Korea to pay.

Fred and Cindy Warmbier said they were thankful that that the court found the government of Kim Jong Un “legally and morally” responsible for their son’s death.

“We put ourselves and our family through the ordeal of a lawsuit and public trial because we promised Otto that we will never rest until we have justice for him,” they said in a joint statement. “Today’s thoughtful opinion by Chief Judge Howell is a significant step on our journey.”

The lawsuit, filed in April, describes in horrific detail the physical abuse Warmbier endured in North Korean custody.

When his parents boarded a plane to see him upon arrival in the U.S., they were “stunned to see his condition,” according to court documents.

The 22-year-old was blind and deaf, his arms were curled and mangled and he was jerking violently and howling, completely unresponsive to his family’s attempts to comfort him. His once straight teeth were misaligned, and he had an unexplained scarred wound on his foot. An expert said in court papers that the injuries suggested he had been tortured with electrocution.

A neurologist later concluded that the college student suffered brain damage, likely from a loss of blood flow to the brain for 5-20 minutes.

The complaint also said Warmbier, who was from a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, was pressured to make a televised confession and then convicted of subversion after a one-hour trial. He was denied communication with his family. In early June 2017, Warmbier’s parents were informed he was in a coma and had been in that condition for one year.


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## Atthatday (Dec 24, 2018)

Thoughts anyone?


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## OhTall1 (Dec 24, 2018)

Atthatday said:


> Thoughts anyone?





> The judgment is largely a symbolic victory for now, since there is still no mechanism to force North Korea to pay.


They aren't getting any money.


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## Lady-RuffDiamond (Dec 24, 2018)

Atthatday said:


> Thoughts anyone?


Without a doubt, he was tortured.

Without a doubt, North Korea will not pay up. 

It took at least 60 years for NK to admit that they had concentration camps. They will never admit to torture of a single person.


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## Atthatday (Dec 24, 2018)

OhTall1 said:


> They aren't getting any money.



Correct, they’re not getting any money. So, what is the point of wasting taxpayer money on someone who broke the law in another country?


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## Crackers Phinn (Dec 24, 2018)

Atthatday said:


> Thoughts anyone?


Black Lives Matter but White Lives Have Value.


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## nysister (Dec 24, 2018)

North Korea is broke, this was meant to be symbolic but really wasn't.

As stupid as that kid was he didn't deserve what happened to him. That was barbaric.


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## meka72 (Dec 24, 2018)

I felt bad that I didn’t care too much about this.  I thought that it was ironic that tang used the parents as props at a rally in Cincinnati but he and KJU are in   . Not long after the judge's decision was announced, tang was tweeting about looking forward to seeing KJU again. I wonder how the parents feel now.


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## Nikkiluv254 (Dec 25, 2018)

As stupid as that kid was he didn't deserve what happened to him. That was barbaric.

I think his treatment was also symbolic. You can't go around to other countries expecting to have white, American privilege.


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Dec 25, 2018)

Sad story.   People must respect the rules of other countries no matter how unusual otherwise something like this can happen.  Reminds me of men getting beheaded when paying compliments to another man's wife in the Middle East.


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## Shula (Dec 27, 2018)

meka72 said:


> I felt bad that I didn’t care too much about this.  I thought that it was ironic that tang used the parents as props at a rally in Cincinnati but he and KJU are in   . Not long after the judge's decision was announced, tang was tweeting about looking forward to seeing KJU again. I wonder how the parents feel now.



The parents had a lot of smoke for 44 if I recall also, right? It was horrific what they did to him but the fact that our kids can't get home safely from the corner store with Skittles and Arizona tea in their OWN country sort of makes me shrug my shoulders a bit. I couldn't imagine a parent seeing their child in that condition but I also can't imagine thinking the world is literally my oyster and I can go anywhere anytime and conduct myself however. That's a lesson put into me from white folks here so I know they can teach it if they wanted to. Not saying he deserved it because he definitely didn't, but if white folks put half the fear and effort into their own children about borders and boundaries as they do to non whites.... I'm sure y'all get the picture. Maybe they should make a global Green Book for white folks and be sure to add NK and the Sentinelese spot. But they love adventure and the unknown so it's probably just a waste of time and resources.


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## Reinventing21 (Dec 27, 2018)

@Shula I wouldn't say they enjoy adventure and the unknown...that is too nice...I think they (collectively) are addicted to the idea of conquering something/someone. They thrive on and are driven by this need. It is the only thing that can squelch their nagging, secret feeling of inferiority. Conquering people, nature etc., is how they are able to sit in the chair of delusional grandeur.


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## Shula (Dec 27, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> @Shula I wouldn't say they enjoy adventure and the unknown...that is too nice...I think they (collectively) are addicted to the idea of conquering something/someone. They thrive on and are driven by this need. It is the only thing that can squelch their nagging, secret feeling of inferiority. Conquering people, nature etc., is how they are able to sit in the chair of delusional grandeur.



I agree 100% and was trying to be nice. Had a white gf tell me how they went somewhere out of the country on vacation and her son kept planting some stick on top of this hill and telling people they couldn't come up because it was his. She was tickled pink talking about men just have to conquer things.    I swear it felt like a camera zoomed into my face when I turned my lips up. Looked right at my girls and said, "They start em young." I didn't think it was cute at all but I didn't want to lapse into my "you people try to claim everywhere and everything" speech. He was about 6 or 7 at the time and was definitely the bully of the kids' group who couldn't ever take no for an answer. He's much better now but too many close calls where I thought I would have to tear his tail up.


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## Transformer (Dec 27, 2018)

Shula said:


> I agree 100% and was trying to be nice. Had a white gf tell me how they went somewhere out of the country on vacation and her son kept planting some stick on top of this hill and telling people they couldn't come up because it was his. She was tickled pink talking about men just have to conquer things.    I swear it felt like a camera zoomed into my face when I turned my lips up. Looked right at my girls and said, "They start em young." I didn't think it was cute at all but I didn't want to lapse into my "you people try to claim everywhere and everything" speech. He was about 6 or 7 at the time and was definitely the bully of the kids' group who couldn't ever take no for an answer. He's much better now but too many close calls where I thought I would have to tear his tail up.




It all about a damn flag. white folks plant one and the land instantly becomes theirs.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Dec 28, 2018)

Why would anyone go to North Korea voluntarily?


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## Reinventing21 (Dec 28, 2018)

Shula said:


> I agree 100% and was trying to be nice. Had a white gf tell me how they went somewhere out of the country on vacation and her son kept planting some stick on top of this hill and telling people they couldn't come up because it was his. She was tickled pink talking about men just have to conquer things.    I swear it felt like a camera zoomed into my face when I turned my lips up. Looked right at my girls and said, "They start em young." I didn't think it was cute at all but I didn't want to lapse into my "you people try to claim everywhere and everything" speech. He was about 6 or 7 at the time and was definitely the bully of the kids' group who couldn't ever take no for an answer. He's much better now but too many close calls where I thought I would have to tear his tail up.



Omg ..I had a similar experience observing them starting them young with that mindset of everything should/does belong to them. I am sure I had the same expression as you on my face

They are something else...


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## Shula (Dec 29, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> Omg ..I had a similar experience observing them starting them young with that mindset of everything should/does belong to them. I am sure I had the same expression as you on my face
> 
> They are something else...



Sis, we were probably looking like twins. 
Lol, it be all you can do not to lay your hands on them and I'm not a parent who spanks. You want to put hands on the parents AND the kids because you see them pull these little stunts and world domination starts flashing through your mind and you be like, NOT ON MY WATCH!! I finally did get one shot at laying hands on the bully kid and I took it    and the parents thanked me though they had clapbacks for people trying to tell them about their kid before that, lol. It was so satisfying, lol.


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## frizzy (Dec 29, 2018)

Warm beer broke U.S. law by going into NK, so...yea.


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## Crackers Phinn (Dec 29, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> @Shula I wouldn't say they enjoy adventure and the unknown...that is too nice...I think they (collectively) are addicted to the idea of conquering something/someone. They thrive on and are driven by this need. It is the only thing that can squelch their nagging, secret feeling of inferiority. *Conquering people, nature etc., is how they are able to sit in the chair of delusional grandeur*.





Shula said:


> I agree 100% and was trying to be nice. Had a white gf tell me how they went somewhere out of the country on vacation and her son kept planting some stick on top of this hill and telling people they couldn't come up because it was his. *She was tickled pink talking about men just have to conquer things*.    I swear it felt like a camera zoomed into my face when I turned my lips up. Looked right at my girls and said, "They start em young." I didn't think it was cute at all but I didn't want to lapse into my "you people try to claim everywhere and everything" speech. He was about 6 or 7 at the time and was definitely the bully of the kids' group who couldn't ever take no for an answer. He's much better now but too many close calls where I thought I would have to tear his tail up.



I think that the role of conquering and it's merits should be re-evaluated in black discussions.  There is actual grandeur in taking someone else's throne.  

When people talk about black Kings and Queens in Africa, I often wonder do they think those kingdoms were acquired in a friendly manner.


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## Laela (Apr 25, 2019)

...and North Korea says *"NO! YOU pay"*


*North Korea presented US with $2 million bill for care of Otto Warmbier*
By Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen and Jeremy Diamond, CNN  |   Updated 6:31 PM ET, Thu April 25, 2019

Washington (CNN)The North Korean government presented the United States with a bill for $2 million for the hospital care of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who was held as a prisoner by Pyongyang, and insisted the US sign a pledge to pay the bill before releasing him from their custody in 2017, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The bill was handed to Joseph Yun, the former State Department Special Representative for North Korea who traveled to Pyongyang in June 2017 to bring Warmbier home, the sources told CNN. 

Warmbier was in a comatose state at the time of his release from North Korean custody and died a few days after returning to the United States. 

Yun, who had orders from President Donald Trump to bring Warmbier home, signed the bill after informing then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about it. Tillerson then told Trump about the bill, according to the source.

The Trump administration has not paid this bill, a third source familiar with the matter told CNN Thursday, adding that North Korea did not raise the issue as it sought to begin easing the tensions with the US in 2018 nor when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiated the release of three Americans that same year, the source said.

"We made clear that they were never going to get anything" when the negotiating occurred for the release of the 3 Americans, the source added. 

Earlier this month, at an event attended by Otto Warmbier's family, Pompeo dismissed the idea of the US paying ransom for hostages.

"Please remember that any money to a terrorist or terrorist regime gives money so that they can seize more of our people," he said. "We cannot accept that risk. You wouldn't ask that of us."

While the North Koreans did not bring up the bill during Trump's summits with Kim Jong Un in Singapore and Vietnam, the source noted that the expectation for this payment could be brought up again.

That's especially true because the ministry of foreign affairs in North Korea is gaining influence at the negotiating table, and they are the ones who handed Yun that bill, the source said. 

Reached by CNN on Thursday, Yun said he could not confirm the report because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.



Why the Vladivostok summit is a coup for Vladimir Putin
"I cannot confirm that," Yun said. "These are diplomatic exchanges and negotiations that I do not confirm." 

"We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a written response to CNN.

The State Department declined to comment and referred to Sanders' response.

The Washington Post was first to report that North Korea presented Yun with the invoice.

Warmbier was detained by North Korean officials in January 2016 while attempting to return to the US from a tour of the country. He was returned to his family "with severe brain damage and in a nonresponsive state" on June 13, 2017, and died six days later. 

Fred Warmbier, Otto's father, told The Washington Post he had no previous knowledge of the bill, but characterized it as "ransom" for his deceased son. 

In February, Trump sided with Kim after he denied knowledge of their son's maltreatment during his imprisonment during their second summit in Vietnam.

"He tells me that he didn't know about it and I will take him at his word," Trump said during a news conference, also claiming Kim "felt very badly. But he knew the case very well, but he knew it later."

Those comments prompted a harsh rebuke from the Warmbier family. 

"We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Thank you," Fred and Cindy Warmbier, Otto's parents, said in a statement provided to CNN.

Trump later addressed the issue on Twitter arguing that he was being "misinterpreted" after successfully getting Warmbier out of North Korea and professing to hold the country accountable for Warmbier's death -- though he did not mention Kim's role.

"I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family," the President said at the time. "Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch."


CNN's Devin Cole, Abby Phillip and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report


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## FadingDelilah (Apr 26, 2019)

I can't even imagine what he endured, to the point that I teared up thinking about it. The howling in pain, the fact that they permanently destroyed and mutilated his senses and limbs, and electrocuted him to the point of brain damage. Why would they do all that just over a poster?  This is so sad. No other injustices in our world could ever make me feel indifferent to this. I hope this keeps any others from going to that country. And I'm thankful that he is resting in peace now.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Apr 27, 2019)

Laela said:


> ...and North Korea says *"NO! YOU pay"*
> 
> 
> *North Korea presented US with $2 million bill for care of Otto Warmbier*
> ...


NK is something else. I am no longer surprised by any of their shenanigans


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## Black Ambrosia (Apr 27, 2019)

Maybe this was a step in a process for the UN formally recognizing the atrocities? It’s clear they’ll never see a dime and idk what the UN could/would do but there must be a bigger goal than the symbolic justice of winning a court case.


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## free2bme (Apr 27, 2019)

I think Trump paid NK the 2 million dollars on the DL to make it look like he's a master negotiator. This is around the time Trump kept on saying he had "fallen in love" with Kim Jung Un.

When the press asked intially Sarah Suckabee Sanders she didn't deny the payout but said all hostage negotions are confidential.


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## Laela (Apr 27, 2019)

^^^ Yeah, I'm inclined to believe the bill had been paid and used for leverage... good point


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## meka72 (Apr 27, 2019)

free2bme said:


> I think Trump paid NK the 2 million dollars on the DL to make it look like he's a master negotiator. This is around the time Trump kept on saying he had "fallen in love" with Kim Jung Un.
> 
> When the press asked intially Sarah Suckabee Sanders she didn't deny the payout but said all hostage negotions are confidential.





Laela said:


> ^^^ Yeah, I'm inclined to believe the bill had been paid and used for leverage... good point


+1

We know that the Interloper in the White House lies about everything. He lied about this too.


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## Kindheart (May 1, 2019)

Imagine this guy was black if it helps release some form of empathy . I find it appalling the way he was treated ,what he did was wrong ,very stupid and reckless,  shouldn’t have risked it but it definetly doesn’t grant being tortured and ultimately killed over it ,it was a damn poster but to them he defaced the image of the leader a severe offence in Nk ! It must be heartbreaking for his family but I can’t think of the unimaginable pain he must have gone through,apparently they swapped teeth around in his mouth..*shivers*


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## HappilyLiberal (May 4, 2019)

Kindheart said:


> Imagine this guy was black if it helps release some form of empathy . I find it appalling the way he was treated ,what he did was wrong ,very stupid and reckless,  shouldn’t have risked it but it definetly doesn’t grant being tortured and ultimately killed over it ,it was a damn poster but to them he defaced the image of the leader a severe offence in Nk ! It must be heartbreaking for his family but I can’t think of the unimaginable pain he must have gone through,apparently they swapped teeth around in his mouth..*shivers*



But that's the entire point!  There's a reason Americans are told not to go over there.  He went anyway and paid the ultimate price.  Sometimes when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes.  I'd feel the same way about him if he had been black.  Only I'd additionally be wondering where his parents 'effed up to create an entitled snowflake.  Snowflake is a normal outcome for white folks.  Black folks usually break their kids out of that before they hit adolescence!


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## Kanky (May 5, 2019)

HappilyLiberal said:


> But that's the entire point!  There's a reason Americans are told not to go over there.  He went anyway and paid the ultimate price.  Sometimes when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes.  I'd feel the same way about him if he had been black.  Only I'd additionally be wondering where his parents 'effed up to create an entitled snowflake.  Snowflake is a normal outcome for white folks.  Black folks usually break their kids out of that before the hit adolescence!



There are black people in this country loosing their lives through no fault of their own and yet I am supposed to get all in my feelings about Otto who went to N.Korea and broke the law. While no one deserves to be tortured to death, he could’ve seen this coming and avoided it easily. And  at a judge telling N.Korea to pay 500k when America hasn’t even paid reparations for slavery and Jim Crow.


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