Hundreds gather to say goodbye to Otto Warmbier. Meanwhile, U. S. continues talks with China to stop North Korea’s nuclear threat.
A crowd of some 2,000 people filled a high school auditorium in Otto Warmbier’s hometown of Ohio to celebrate his life. The American college student, detained for a nearly a year and a half in a North Korea prison, died soon after being returned to his family in vegetative state.
It was just back in 2013 that Warmbier served as salutatorian of his graduating class.
« It doesn’t really feel real yet. He’s so young, and he’s been gone for so long, » said Grady Beerck, 22, a former soccer teammate. « The impact he made is always going to last with people. »
No media were allowed inside the Wyoming high school gym, but Warmbier’s parents released some photos. They showed his phone, passport, notebook, even the blazer worn during his trip to North Korea.
President Donald Trump did not attend the funeral, but has blasted Warmbier’s death as « a total disgrace. »
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to work closely with top Chinese officials in high level meetings to find solutions to the North Korea threat.
« The most acute threat in the region is the DPRK, » Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned. « We both call for complete verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. China understands that the United States regards North Korea as our top security threat. »
Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, « I would point out to you that China’s end state on the Korean Peninsula in terms of nuclear weapons is the same as ours and we continue to work toward that end state. »
As the United States urges China to exert great pressure on North Korea, U. S. spy satellites have detected new activity around the regime’s known nuclear test site, leading to speculation Pyongyang may be getting ready to conduct yet another round of missile tests.
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