North Korea Sentences U.S. Student to 15 Years Hard Labor
- Student took down propaganda sign, North Korean media said
- The nation has used detainees to open dialogue with U.S.
Otto Frederick Warmbier.
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North Korea sentenced a U.S. college student to 15 years hard labor for what it called hostile acts against the country, further chilling relations with the U.S. as the Obama administration seeks to ratchet up pressure on the regime over its nuclear arms program.
North Korea’s Supreme Court issued the sentence on Wednesday against Otto Frederick Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, the country’s official Korean Central News Agency said. Warmbier entered North Korea as a tourist in late December and took down a propaganda sign in Pyongyang so he could exchange it for money outside the country, KCNA reported in late February.