Defense Secretary James Mattis said that Ohio resident Otto Warmbier’s death after a « minor act of mischief » escapes understanding.
North Korea was at the top of the agenda when a Chinese delegation met its counterparts in Washington, D. C., on Wednesday, in the wake of the death of an American who was detained in the isolated nation for more than a year.
Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old student, died on Monday, shortly after being returned from North Korea in an unconscious state. Last year, Warmbier confessed to trying to take a propaganda banner and had been subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor.
Defense Secretary James Mattis said that Warmbier’s death after a « minor act of mischief » escapes understanding.
« This goes beyond any kind of understanding of law and order, of humanity, of responsibility towards any human being, » Mattis said in a joint press conference with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson .
A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said Warmbier’s death was a tragedy and said China hopes that the U. S. and North Korea « can handle this issue properly. »
Pyongyang had claimed Warmbier contracted botulism and fell into a coma after being imprisoned, but doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center have said they found no traces of active botulism.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump called North Korea’s treatment of Warmbier a « disgrace, » saying Warmbier’s death could have been avoided if he was brought home earlier.
The 22-year-old’s death personally affected Trump, who expressed personal outrage and told aides about the « inhumanity » of North Korea’s behavior, a person with direct knowledge told NBC News.
