Parents blame North Korea’s ‘evil regime’ for son’s death

In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. President Donald Trump says he doesn't think North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was involved in the mistreatment of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died after being detained in the North. Trump says of Kim: "He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." The Ohio native was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea on suspicion of stealing a propaganda poster. Warmbier died in 2017, shortly after being sent home in a coma. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File) In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. President Donald Trump says he doesn't think North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was involved in the mistreatment of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died after being detained in the North. Trump says of Kim: "He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." The Ohio native was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea on suspicion of stealing a propaganda poster. Warmbier died in 2017, shortly after being sent home in a coma. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)

By Associated Press March 1, 2019 4 min read

CINCINNATI (AP) – Unlike President Donald Trump, Otto Warmbier’s parents don’t believe North Korea’s leader.

The parents of the American college student who was sent home from North Korea in a vegetative state spoke out Friday, after Trump’s comment this week that he takes Kim Jong Un “at his word” that he was unaware of any mistreatment during the young man’s 17 months of captivity. Warmbier died at age 22 soon after his return in June 2017.

In this June 22, 2017, file photo, Fred and Cindy Warmbier watch as their son Otto’s casket is placed in a hearse after his funeral Wyoming, Ohio. The Warmbier’s have spoke out Friday, March 1, 2019, after President Donald Trump’s comment this week that he takes North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un “at his word” that he was unaware of alleged mistreatment during their son’s 17 months of captivity. Warmbier died at age 22 soon after his return in June 2017. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File)

Fred and Cindy Warmbier, who have expressed appreciation of Trump in the past and were guests at his 2018 State of the Union address, said in a statement Friday they had been respectfully silent while Trump and Kim met in Vietnam.

But no longer.

“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,” they said. “No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”