[Timpo]

cliff notes:
A 21 year old University of Virginia student tried to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel.
After 1 hour trial at North Korea's highest court, he was sentenced for 15 years of hard labour.

North Korea sentences U.S. tourist Otto Warmbier to 15 years in prison - World - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-sentences-american-tourist-otto-warmbier-1.3493327)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/world/asia/north-korea-otto-warmbier-sentenced.html

North Korea urged to free US student Otto Warmbier - BBC News (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35827861)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er7uhMkQzro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYUMImDfhoo

[unit]

i feel sorry for the kid, 15 years of hard labor not just a prison sentence.

also, what an idiot.

[smoothie.]

seems like a shitty actor more than a regretful guy.

either the us wont care and will let him rot or world war 3?

[BoostedBB6]

Not the greatest time to be in Korea, and it is never a good time to do anything illegal.
That's absolutely insane for a punishment and its rather clear its being done to make a point far outside of the actual "crime".

Hope that kid makes it home because that's just unreal.

[evlee]

I dont see the need to visit north Korea. Specially when you are an American... Just asking for trouble. Hopefully he learns a lesson

[smoothie.]

I dont see the need to visit north Korea. Specially when you are an American... Just asking for trouble. Hopefully he learns a lesson

he's going to die there.

[Timpo]

i feel sorry for the kid, 15 years of hard labor not just a prison sentence.

also, what an idiot.

Hard labour in North Korea? You will feel like slave in Nazi camp.

Here's what "hard labour" is in prison of North Korea. It's not like digging oil sand in Alberta or becoming a heavy duty construction worker in BC.

What?s it like to do ?hard labor? in North Korea? | Foreign Policy (http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/02/whats-it-like-to-do-hard-labor-in-north-korea/)
"Eating a diet of mostly corn and salt, they lose their teeth, their gums turn black, their bones weaken and, as they age, they hunch over at the waist," read the report, according to the Washington Post. "Most work 12- to 15-hour days until they die of malnutrition-related illnesses, usually around the age of 50. Allowed just one set of clothes, they live and die in rags, without soap, socks, underclothes or sanitary napkins."

[murd0c]

I don't see the reason to feel sorry for the guy, he's in North Korea and knows how they are and he was caught. The guy is a first class idiot and yes the penalty is stupid as fuck but that's North Korea so what else do you expect.

[Timpo]

he's going to die there.

yeah, and North Korea will imprisonate anyone committing a "crime" regardless of your nationality.

Some of the comments on internet say "I don't know how much luck he has to get out of there...only if Donald Trump was the president."

[Timpo]

I don't see the reason to feel sorry for the guy, he's in North Korea and knows how they are and he was caught. The guy is a first class idiot and yes the penalty is stupid as fuck but that's North Korea so what else do you expect.

this...we all make mistakes, but why would you ever go to North Korea?

I don't know if I'm lacking sympathy, but this is same as people who go to Syria, Iraq, etc..just to "travel" or check it out, or whatever reason...then turn into a hostage and begging for help.

[gilly]

Damn....15 years. He will be 36 when he gets out. A big part of his life ruined because of a stupid poster.

[ZN6]

When you are a guest you follow the rules of the house. This kid is fucking dead as shit. They don't even limit you to being in North Korea as a hard labor slave, they can send you to Russia as a slave and where you end up, you may never be found. If you are foreign, you best believe he's going to get the worst treatments in a slave camp.

This kid has very little chance of ever seeing his family again. While I feel some sympathy but not much, the kid did not do his due diligence and had a self-entitled right to steal shit in a country that has zero tolerance for pretty much anything.

[CRS]

Damn....15 years. He will be 36 when he gets out. A big part of his life ruined because of a stupid poster.

Stupid poster? More like dumbass tourist.

What are you really expecting? You get some kind of cool trophy to tell all your friends about? Tell them how badass you were in NK and stole a sign as a big F.U. to Kim Jong Un?

He deserved it. People that knowingly go into NK as a tourist and try to pull off these dumbass frat boy stunts deserve what's coming to them.

[Berzerker]

He said he was to be paid 10k for the poster and his family would get 200k if he was caught. Oh and the poster was to be put on the wall of a church.
Anything sound off about that to you? He's not he first church idiot to do something stupid. Another young person left a bible in a bar in the hopes someone would find it and was also arrested. Sorry no sympathy from me. Is the sentence harsh? Of course but you KNOW what the punishment for these types of "crimes" is before you even step foot in that country so if you get caught..... You're a fucking idiot.

A lot of these types of arrests and punishments are posturing from NK. They make high ranking US officials come and get them as a show of force and also a deterrent for future antics of dissent.

Berz out.

[Galactic_Phantom]

this...we all make mistakes, but why would you ever go to North Korea?

I don't know if I'm lacking sympathy, but this is same as people who go to Syria, Iraq, etc..just to "travel" or check it out, or whatever reason...then turn into a hostage and begging for help.

Because people want to go out and see the world even if it means going to 3rd world, shithole, authoritarian countries?

Is it a surprise to you some people aren't content with sitting in the front their computers in their comfortable first world homes fapping to pictures of R35s with ugly bodykits?

The kid is an idiot. There are plenty of visitors who went NK and lived to bring back pictures and stories

[Mr.Money]

word has it he was suppose to be paid to bring back the flag he stole...i don't know how much money was involved.....but he knew enough to what it looks like.

edit: looks like berz brought up the whole thing already.

[j.f0ng]

"I have been very impressed by the Korean government's humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself and of their very fair and square legal procedures"

:pokerface: ...:lawl:

[123654123]

do you ever feel like a plastic bag

[Berzerker]

All of the political prisoners have made these statements to "press". They all are given prepared statements which they later recant once they are freed by the US. Obvious use of propaganda from NK.

Berz out.

[underscore]

Because people want to go out and see the world even if it means going to 3rd world, shithole, authoritarian countries?

Is it a surprise to you some people aren't content with sitting in the front their computers in their comfortable first world homes fapping to pictures of R35s with ugly bodykits?

By all means people are free to do so, but when going to less than friendly parts of the world they need to make themselves aware of the potential risks they're taking and be willing to suffer the consequences if those risks turn into reality. What irritates me are the people who ignore the risk, take it anyways, and then whine and want to be saved when it bites them in the ass.

[GabAlmighty]

As Mark Twain said "If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way."

[Timpo]

When you are a guest you follow the rules of the house. This kid is fucking dead as shit. They don't even limit you to being in North Korea as a hard labor slave, they can send you to Russia as a slave and where you end up, you may never be found. If you are foreign, you best believe he's going to get the worst treatments in a slave camp.

This kid has very little chance of ever seeing his family again. While I feel some sympathy but not much, the kid did not do his due diligence and had a self-entitled right to steal shit in a country that has zero tolerance for pretty much anything.

good point.

I do feel that the punishment is quite severe, but I bet a lot people on RS will agree that when you were a kid, you go to someone else's house as a guest, when you come back home, you brag about what you stole from their house.
I bet many of us would've got in huge shit and ass beaten by the parents for doing stupid shit like that.

seems like a shitty actor more than a regretful guy.


Kids nowadays just whine and cry so that parents would get annoyed and eventually give up. It's just a speculation but maybe that's his way of getting away from trouble?

[Manic!]

Why the hell are people even allowed to go to North Korea? Every time this happens it costs America a lot of time and money to get them out of there.

[DGN23]

Play stupid games; win stupid prizes. Fuck him and fuck North Korea.

[Drow]

on the flip side i bet North Korea's government controlled media department is going nuts with this story

"foreigner feels the might of the Supreme Leader and begs for forgiveness"

"American in tears after he beholds the wrath of our Supreme Leader"

they loving this shit and this time, they have it live on camera

[Great68]

Wow, that's a harsher penalty than we give out for a lot of murders in Canada.

Seriously though, North Korea is a shit stain that needs to be nuked the fuck off the face of the earth already.

[Verdasco]

looks like an actor.... wtf is up with that crying speech?!?! def looks fishy.... probably north korea trying to make themselves look scary

[TOPEC]

im more surprised he was granted a visa to enter with an american passport, we all know how much NK HATES anything remotely american. that is unless he snuck in illegally.

[yray]

^ Koryo Tours - Tours & Tour Dates (http://www.koryogroup.com/)

[CRS]

Wow, that's a harsher penalty than we give out for a lot of murders in Canada.

Seriously though, North Korea is a shit stain that needs to be nuked the fuck off the face of the earth already.

Well, that's probably because we have human rights here and they have that pesky three generation of punishment thing going on there.

[twitchyzero]

wow pretty harsh stance ITT

I feel sympathetic for foreigners that get heavy sentence/death penalty for non-violent crime because they likely won't get fair trial. I totally agree with the 'respect the house rules' mantra but people are stupid and make mistakes...to me that shouldn't automatically mean they're on the firing squad's hit list or have to endure labour camp.

this news from last year is kinda relevant:
http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2015/4/28/1258a8c9475e45bb97b52f45f56cd56d_18.jpg

[CharlesInCharge]

This guy watched too many Matt Damon, Bourne Identity movies (I think they go upto 5 now) to do run a mission like this... what if he was an agent that the government sent to purposely get caught and be the sacrificial lamb to open up dialogue with the Supreme Leader.
NK threatened to preemptively Nuke the U.S. because of the hundreds and thousands of U.S. soldiers gathering along the boarder to do drills.

Now thats what I call a sovereign country.

[hotong]

Hard labour in North Korea:

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet (http://imgur.com/a/648Mv)

[flagella]

If this story is true, he's one hell of a fking retard.

[ZN6]

Wow, that's a harsher penalty than we give out for a lot of murders in Canada.

Seriously though, North Korea is a shit stain that needs to be nuked the fuck off the face of the earth already.

Canada: Humane treatment to all whether you are a criminal or not.

North Korea: Inhuman treatment to all of their citizens unless you can provide benefit to the DPRK's current regime (like joining their army). Barbaric treatment to those who commit even the pettiest of crimes. As a citizen once you become a criminal, your entire family for generations become criminals and you are truly fucked. Modify a radio issued by the government? You are a criminal.

It is an offence to the North Korean people if you even take a picture of political leaders and they are not fully in the picture. If authorities can somehow twist the story (which would be highly likely) that you deliberately took a picture cutting off a portion of the leader then you will be a criminal. Death would be a true blessing if you are a convicted criminal in North Korea.

I think "harsher" is putting it lightly. They truly set the bar low on quality of life and then it only goes down from there as a normal citizen.

[ZN6]

I do feel that the punishment is quite severe, but I bet a lot people on RS will agree that when you were a kid, you go to someone else's house as a guest, when you come back home, you brag about what you stole from their house.
I bet many of us would've got in huge shit and ass beaten by the parents for doing stupid shit like that.



:suspicious:

What the fuck?

First, you are comparing an adolescent kid who probably doesn't know any better to a fully-grown, educated adult who is conscious of what is right and wrong.

Second, I dunno who you hang out with, but I'm sure you'd lose that bet.

[604STIG]

I'm kind of surprised that the US still has travel restrictions for it's citizens trying to go to Cuba, but any of them can go to North Korea. Obviously, the situation with Cuba is an entirely different beast but just seems funny that Americans still look to travel to North Korea.

[Nlkko]

He's a dumb 21. He probably was shitting and pooping in his pants as he read that. Forget about crying.

They probably will settle some kind of deal though since this went viral.

[Mr.Money]

Russia is already calling Dibs on North Korea if anything goes down...But knowing those pussies,They can keep TALKING when the West is itching to start the next war.

http://www.funker530.com/see-the-invasion-drill-that-has-north-korea-threatening-nuke-strikes/

[Ferra]

If this story is true, he's one hell of a fking retard.
should've told them "It's just a prank bro!"


but honestly, we don't even know if he did what they said he did.
news said he "attempted" to steal a political banner. I take it that means he never actually stole the banner.

And unless this guy knows korean, he wouldn't have a glue what some random korean banner inside a hotel said



Edit: video of "him" stealing the banner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe4gUguATo4
the banner is like an 8ft long hard board, how do you even steal that :fuckthatshit:
no way you can tell who that person is from the video...
video conveniently cut off right after the person place the board on the floor

I feel like he is just being used as scrapegoat for NK to shame america

[BBMme]

What a dumb ass. If I was his parents I would be so disappointed in his action.

[ZN6]

on the flip side i bet North Korea's government controlled media department is going nuts with this story

"foreigner feels the might of the Supreme Leader and begs for forgiveness"

"American in tears after he beholds the wrath of our Supreme Leader"

they loving this shit and this time, they have it live on camera

This guy was a tool and is a literal a tool now and this is the greatest thing that can happen to North Korea during this time of serious high-strung tension between the States and NK.

I think the message would be more along the lines of "This is the face of the Western imperialists, conniving, deceitful, untrustworthy, and dirty cowards in the face of our authority."

I would think that NK would want to strengthen the people's hate on (but not limited to) the western world, not to outright shame the guy.

NK is basically sensationalizing everything they say in order to strengthen their lie about how bad the rest of the world is and how they are the greatest nation in the universe to prevent their people from leaving and keeping the people under constant control through fear.

[Eastwood]

If North Korea ever lets this kid out he'll be forever known as a crying bitch by all his friends...

[lowside67]

If North Korea ever lets this kid out he'll be forever known as a crying bitch by all his friends...
If they ever let him out, he'll be the guy who survived a North Korean prison camp. That holds a lot more water than crying when being sentenced/railroaded to a near death sentence. Simple mind much?

Mark

[Nightwalker]

I wouldn't wish that punishment on my worst enemy. He may have been an idiot and got himself jacked for his actions (who knows the real details, we're all of a sudden believing NK propaganda?), but I still have great sympathy. A death sentence would have been a mercy by comparison.

Hopefully his time as a political tool is short lived.

[pastarocket]

Maybe fat boy Kim will cut a deal with this American kid. :troll:

Kim: "If you can help me find my green cucumber submarine, I'll reduce your sentence". :lawl:

[Berzerker]

As soon as he is let go, like other political prisoners, he will say he was coerced into saying those things by the North Koreans. It's obvious he is faking the whole remorse bit. They probably gave him a script and said something like "If you read this and co-operate you will be let go eventually. If you don't you will be here for life" Pretty simple choice.
North Korea is paranoid about US spies. They use this propaganda to further their cause against the US.

Berz out.

[Galactic_Phantom]

If North Korea ever lets this kid out he'll be forever known as a crying bitch by all his friends...

You'd be a crying bitch if you faced 15 years in a NK labour camp....

[twitchyzero]

so last week he was returned home by med evac and was comatose...i thought that was probably a very good outcome all things considered

then this

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/19/otto-warmbier-dies-coma-student-north-korea-prison

don't know what's worse...the American student's mysterious death or Kim's brother being taken out by a chemical weapon.

[smoothie.]

he's going to die there.

hmmm.

[Berzerker]

Smoothie is a NK insider!


Berz out.