An airfield near Atlanta. Emergency
doctor Mike Flueckiger is embarking on a special mission.
Destination: North Korea. âThis is a medical evacuation - we
need you to go in and bring him out.â A mission to retrieve US citizen Otto
Warmbier, last seen in public 14 months earlier. A prisoner of
the regime of North Korea. War-mongering between Kim Jong-un
and Donald Trump is at its peak. âThey will be met with fire and fury
like the world has never seenâ. A silent mission - on
a difficult route. âWe will not to use South Korea, China
or Russia to help us plan the missionâ Days later Otto Warmbier is back home.
But he is fatally ill. Severe brain damage, says the coroner.
Cause unknown. Was it torture? Warmbierâs parents become pawns in a
game played by President Trump.... who announces that the North Korean
leader knew nothing about Warmbier. âAll I can do is shake my head, right.
Too many lies, right.â When the State Department sends
emergency doctor Mike Flueckiger to North Korea, his plane of choice is
still in Africa. The carrier, Phoenix Air, often evacuates Ebola patients.
But for this mission, Flueckiger insists on the best plane
and the best team. He doesnât even tell his
family where heâs headed. âI didnât tell them where Iâve been
until the mission was over because it has become more and more apparent
that it was a special mission. I told them I was going to Korea to pick up a
patient. I did not say North Korea.â At Phoenix Airâs headquarters, a
second team led by Chief Operator Dent Thompson has to solve
a logistical problem: The plane will not be allowed
to refuel in Pyongyang. âCurrently there are certain sanctions
that are in place between the US- government and the North Korean
government and for us to pay for anything we would have
to get special permits which we simply didnât
have time to do. â On the morning of June 10th, 2017,
a Saturday, the plane takes off on its mission. Flueckiger is joined
by two male nurses and two U.S. State Department representatives.
With refueling stops in Montana and Alaska, their flight takes
them halfway around the globe to northern Japan - and
hopefully on to Pyongyang. The outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio. Otto Warmbier grew up here,
in the suburb of Wyoming. At first, his parents donât
answer our inquiries. They arenât seeking the spotlight.
The town has modest and affluent neighborhoods. Otto Warmbierâs
father runs a medium-sized business. Otto, the oldest of three children,
is the pride of both his family and his high school. At graduation
he holds the commencement address. His future is mapped out: College in
Virginia, a scholarship, a planned semester abroad in Hong Kong. First,
a New Yearâs adventure. North Korea. He books through a Chinese travel
agency. Its slogan: We take you to âdestinations your mother would
rather you stay away from.â He joins an international
group: they have a great time. âHe's left a mark on me.
He was such a lovely lad. I spoke to a lot of people
and they were devastated.â Every year the agency touts their
dazzling highlight in Pyongyang. The alcohol flows freely; the guides
make sure everyoneâs in a good mood. Nights are long at Pyonyangâs
only hotel for foreigners. Ottoâs group has fun, too. It isnât
clear whether they also took on the challenge of the forbidden 5th floor,
but many tourists have in the past. It is the staffâs floor. With
hallways full of propaganda slogans. The hotelâs surveillance
center is also located here. Tourists are usually just admonished.
They act innocent, and run off. This New Yearâs Eve, however, the
cameras capture someone taking a poster from the wall.
It is 1:57 a.m. And it is, according to
the trial: Otto Warmbier. Instead of leaving North Korea on
January 2nd, he is taken into custody. âHe simply had a tap on the shoulder.
Two guards took him away. I laughingly said to him: âThat is
the last weâll ever see of youâ. [...] But of course there was
a huge irony in my words. We didnât know what would happen, but
it was the last time anyone saw him.â Two months later North
Koreaâs propaganda televises a staged confession. âI entirely beg you people and
government of the DPR Korea for your forgiveness.
Please, I've made the worst mistake
of my life, but, please, [...] I should never allow myself to
be lured by the US administration to commit a crime in this country.â A show trial with obviously
coerced statements. Perhaps in exchange for a pardon. 16 days later Warmbier discovers
that his hopes were in vain. He is sentenced to 15 years of hard
labor for subversive activities. His condition from this
point on remains uncertain. Shortly before takeoff, Dr.
Mike Flueckiger is given the few details known about
Warmbierâs condition. âI had one small written note, one
paragraph, about his condition saying he was in a coma at a Pyongyang
hospital. That is really all I knew except that heâs been
hospitalized for 15 months.â Was Flueckiger worried about the
threat of war? âNot really,â he says. âI think I had felt that the
relationship between North Korea and the US had been bad for a while. And
I thought if this door had opened to bring Warmbier back then there'd been
negotiations to ease things a bit.â In fact, North Koreaâs sudden
diplomatic effort surprises the U.S. negotiators. Mickey
Bergman is one of them. Since Warmbierâs arrest, he had
been trying to gain access to him, with the help of UN contacts. Bergman works together with Bill
Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and former US ambassador to
the UN. Hardly any other team is as experienced in dealing with
Pyongyang as they are. âIn general the only available direct
channel that we have are the people that represent North Korea
here at the United Nations. The individuals are people that
know the governor from before, they know me from before.
So thatâs a direct channel. But at the end of the day
they are not decision makers. And if you want to get to a deal, when
you want to get to an understanding, you have to be there in person. So
the first priority is how do we get ourselves Invited to North Korea?
To make sure that we can talk to the people who can make
decisions about this.â âIt was different, you knew that
Otto Warmbier by the North Koreans was considered something special.
Because he was from the Midwest, he was an attractive young men,
he was an all-American boy. You knew this one was special
because it got a lot of TV coverage from North Korea. The trial, where
the young man was in trauma, he was very upset and
he was carried around. And you knew that this was a very
sensitive time in United States - North Korea-relations. So, the North
Koreans, you knew early on, would use him as a bargaining chip to get
something back from the United States. They always use political
prisoners as bargaining chips - They want something in return.â âWould that be typical that US inmates
suffer physical torture or violence?â âThe North Koreas are very
tough on interrogations and their prisons
are not ideal. Sometimes they make this political
prisoners work in the fields, so labor is involved. Do
they specifically torture? I donât have any evidence they do.
Do they treat the prisoners well? No. I think where the North Koreans fall
short is an international standard of counselor visits. Sometimes
they do, sometimes they donât. It depends on the price of
the prisoner that they hold. They want to dramatize
as much as they can.â Insiders call these contacts between
North Koreaâs UN representatives and people like Richards the âNew York
channelâ. For a long time itâs been the only connection between
the two countries. Here, at the Palm Restaurant, it is
kept alive with steak and lobster over meetings that take
place every few weeks. Mickey Bergman believes heâs
close to a breakthrough. He is told to come to Pyongyang. âWe got an invitation. I went there
- even on the plane, on the way - I did have the fantasy in my mind,
that Iâm coming back with Otto.â Swedish diplomats also pressure
Pyongyang. There is a meeting of diplomats in Oslo. But
no progress is made. âI was told: Look donât be disparaged.
There is a saying in Korea, that it takes a housand hacks to bring
down a tree. And my response was: I hope I donât need
to come back again. However more times and all to get
it happen. But I get the messageâ The Kim regime seems to buy time,
keen to use Warmbier as an asset. Kim wonât negotiate until he feels
protected by his new nuclear weapons. At the UN general assembly North
Koreaâs delegation ignores both the threats and the insults made by
the newly elected US president. âRocket man is on a suicide mission
for himself and for his regime.â North Korea is still studying
Donald Trumpâs behavior. Waiting for new insights. âThe Obama administration and North
Korean relationship was not good. The policy was strategic patience
- more sanctions, more sanctions. The North Koreans? they werenât
happy with that, obviously. And they saw the new administration,
well maybe? we show that weâre ready to deal. And
Otto Warmbier is the closest thing to a concession.â But what convinced Pyongyang
to allow ailing Otto Warmbier to be evacuated? Does the regime
believe America will be grateful? Or is Warmbier already so weak that
they just donât want him to die as their prisoner? Flueckiger asks
himself the same questions. Until his crew suffers
the first setback. When they reach Sapporo that
evening, their flight seems doomed. The flight control center doesnât
have the information its needs. The plane is grounded. âThey told me that the
Japanese air traffic control - because there was no
relationship with North Korea - did not want to let us fly
directly to North Korea. They would have to send us to another
route to a country that they did have relationship with. And then
at that point we would fly in.â âI called back up to the US department
of state and got a very high level person on the phone. And I said: Here
is the situation, unless you can intercede and resolve
this, this trip is over.â After night-time crisis calls
with government officials, Japanâs prime minister
eventually gives the go-ahead. The next morning Flueckigerâs plane
receives clearance to fly from Sapporo to Pyongang - a flight route
that doesnât officially exist. âWhen the plane was
probably one-hundred miles east of the North
Korean Boundary, the Japanese air traffic
controller said: we are now terminating service,
North Korea is in front of you, have a nice day. And then
turned off the radio.â The Pyongyang airport
contacts the plane by radio. Hours later on the ground Flueckigerâs
team is escorted to the building where Warmbier has been
hospitalized for months. âWe were dropped of at the front door
of the hospital and accompanied down a hallway upstairs and when we
entered there were two doctors and four nurses. One was the chief of
staff of the hospital and one was the doctor who had been charge of Ottoâs
care during the time that he had been in the hospital. They said: You can examine Otto. My first impression was: He is not in
a coma. He was awake, he had his eyes open. He was not responsive
- purposefully responsive - but he was reactive
to noise and touch... The doctors and nurses
confirmed that.â Flueckiger examines Warmbier.
Asks the doctors more questions. âIt was a standard physical exam. I
listened to his heart and lungs, checked his eyes, pupils, did a
neurologic exam as best I could. I had what I felt was enough time to
examine. Thatâs when I started asking questions. They said: Letâs go out. Finish your exam, then
weâll go out and talk.â âYou must have had also on your mind: what happened to make him fall
into a condition like that?â âYeah right, absolutely.â âWhat did you think?â âWell, the North Koreans had
two possible explanations. One was botulism poisoning
which they cannot test for. They said he had eaten a pork
meal the day he went into prison and could have had botulism poisoning
which can cause you to stop breathing but it wouldn't happen quickly in
general. Didnât sound very possible. The other was that they had given him
two sedatives on the night he went in because he was very
agitated? upset. And that either he had a bad
reaction or they gave him too much. They said that themselves.â âDid you have the feeling the doctors
where hiding something from you?â âI certainly was looking for a signs
of torture. Could this be torture? And what I concluded was that I
could not see any signs of torture. I had the feeling they were
forthcoming with their information. It didnât seem that they
were hiding anything. And we examined his skin and found
no evidence of any skin breakdown. After hospitalization of that
length thatâs pretty remarkable. So that to me indicated that he
got good care, attentative care. Yeah, itâs an indicator.â âDid you have in mind the
parents waiting, not knowing, was that something that
you carried with you?â âThe whole time we were there.â Since Warmbierâs parents wonât talk
to us, we talk to people they have been open with. A two-hourâs drive
from New York we meet one of them. The Warmbiers had turned
to him for help early on. A former diplomat with
Korean experience. We discuss what âstrategic patienceâ
means for the families. Should they remain silent to keep from
endangering negotiations? Or not? âDuring many, many hours of rather
emotional conversations that we had on the phone, I began to hear
this argument from them. And I pushed back against it. And
I gave them evidence that there were efforts being made - not
just efforts by me and other civilians but people in government.
I also made the point to them that something was different about the way
that Ottoâs case was being handled. And it made the normal diplomatic
intervention - that you'd expect to work with the North Koreans -
it made that ineffective.â The Warmbiers have stopped talking
to Ottoâs school. Month after month goes by with no sign of
life from their son. Nobody knows that in faraway North
Korea he was seen from the outset as a prisoner of war, with
no access to diplomats. Following Trumpâs inauguration,
Warmbierâs parents speak out. And accuse the Obama administration of
failure, although they met with his Secretary of State John
Kerry several times. They confide in Trumpâs favorite
network, Fox News. Easy prey for their hostâs ongoing partisan
crusade against Obamaâs Democrats. - âNow John Kerry was secretary of
state then. Did you speak to him?â - âWe met him.â - âAnd what was the outcome of that?â - âA nice guy, nice person?â - âDid he help
you in any way?â - "totally exasperated and overwhelmed
with North Korea. Totally?â - Did he help you in any way?â - âNo, absolutely not.â - âDid anyone in the State
Department helped you in any way?â - âNo, no, absolutely not.â - âThe first thing after I got the
phone call was: Did you read the state departments blog on North Korea?
Before you let him go?â - âWait someone from the State
Department said that to you? Blaming you two for the kidnapping and
imprisonment of Otto? Itâs your fault. That was the message from
the State Department.â - âRight. They acted like we were
ignorant for letting him go.â - âThey judged you and blamed you for
your sons kidnapping by the North Korean government. Like it was your
fault. Thatâs what you got when you reached out for the US government for
help. You got blame and judgment.â - âYes. And they asked
us to stay quiet. Itâs better for
everyone involved.â - âYeah, better for the bureaucrats
cause nobody knows how little theyâre doing when nobody talks about it. Do
you have a message for the new state department? For Secretary Tillerson?
What would you like him to do?â - âSure. Iâd like to work
with him to bring Otto home. He can make a difference
here, heâs a do-er. It may be disrespectful to ask for
that: President Trump, I ask you: Bring my son home. You can
make a difference here.â - âI pray that this resolves.
Thanks for joining us.â âOne thing I know for sure, I have
not been a parent that lost a kid. Thatâs something that I was talking to
Fred and Cindy Warmbier throughout ? that those things take time. It doesnât mean that you need to sit
back and trust that the government is doing everything for it,
because the government has complex sets of interests.
But it takes time and on average in North Korea, itâs
between a year and half and two years. And in all the scenarios that Iâve
ever imagined working on this - and we worked on it for 18 month - I always
imagined that it does get resolved and Otto does come home. And I had never
imagined in all this time the scenario of what actually ended up happening.â âWhat upset me was that it took them a
year to admit that he was in a coma. They never told us that. The North
Korean contacts we had said that they didn't know either he was in a coma.
Thatâs possible. He was controlled - a young man, Otto - by the security
services. And they donât communicate with each other. This is a
country of enormous secrecy. Only the top eschelon knows whatâs
going on and they decide who gets the information within
their own government.â The North Korean doctors hand over
their CT scans of Warmbierâs brain to Dr. Flueckiger. He writes a report.
But still: Warmbier is a prisoner. âThe door opens and here comes
the judge in a judgeâs robe. He goes to that same spot I was in and
he conducted a little ten minute court hearing to commute Otto
Warmbierâs sentence. He was still a prisoner and had
to have a hearing to release him. And then at that point they brought
in all of Ottoâs belongings and they wanted us to go through it
piece by piece and check it off. We said: Just give us his passport,
his wallet. Just give us everything.â On June 13th, 2017, Otto Warmbier
finally leaves North Korea. âThe vibrations and the noise of the
airplane was really difficult for him and it made him stiffen up almost
as if he was having a convulsion. We gave small doses of standard
sedating drugs. The two nurses and I said, talked to each other about how
do we want the parents to see him. Do we want him to be fully awake or do
we want him to be calm and sedated. We decided he should
be calm and sedated.â Flueckigerâs crew flies home via their
planned route. Until the White House administrationâs claims of
success create another mishap. âAt the presidents direction the
department of state has secured the release of Otto
Warmbier from North Korea. He is on his way home to be
reunited with his family.â âWe began to talk with the ground
handling people at Cincinnati International and they said: the media
is showing up, truck after truck. And it was getting out of control. And
we said: Look, we highly recommend that we change the arrival airport
from Cincinnati International Airport to Lunken Regional Airport.â Warmbierâs parents and his two younger
siblings are waiting by the hangar. The rescue team decides to give
them time on board alone with Otto. âWe all understood what a terrible
situation this was for them. We escorted them to the plane. Fifteen
minutes out from the airport we had given him another dose of the
sedative and he was calm and quiet. The minute the parents got up there
and talked to him he woke up. It was my impression and the nursesâ
impression that he at some level recognized his parentsâ voices. I
think so, yeah. He just immediately woke up and was kind of in that
agitated state. It was hard to watch.â Fred Warmbier later
describes their reunion. âI knelt down by his
side and I hugged him. And I told him I missed him and
I was so glad he made it home.â Since the airport doesnât have the
necessary equipment, Warmbier is carried from the plane, while his
mother and father look on. This will be the last public photograph
of him for a long time. âShe and I firmly believe that he
fought to stay alive through the worst that the North Koreans
could put him through in order to return to the family
and community he loves.â But the hope that he
recovers is short-lived. âHe shows no signs of
understanding language, responding to verbal commands or
awareness of his surroundings.â A week later, the family gives up. They have all life support systems
switched off. Otto Warmbier dies. Fred and Cindy Warmbier continue
to stay out of the limelight. But when North Korea itself claims to
be the victim in the case, they make another appearance on Fox News. They
describe Ottoâs return in stark terms. âOtto had a shaved head, he had a
feeding tube coming out of his nose, he would starring blankly into space
jerking violently, he was blind, he was deaf. As we looked at him and
tried to comfort him it looked like someone had taken a pair of pliers
and rearranged his bottom teeth. Within two days of Otto being home his fever
spiked to a 104 degrees. He had a large scar on his right foot.
North Korea is not a victim. Theyâre terrorists.â
âThey destroyed him.â âThey purposely and
intentionally injured Otto.â With no evidence,
Trump twitters: âGreat interview. Otto was tortured
beyond belief by North Korea.â Before - and also with no evidence - a
government official had told the New York Times that âOtto had
been repeatedly beatenâ. However, neither the hospital nor
the coroner found any evidence of torture. But what was
the cause of death? âWe have evidence that his
brain was deprived of oxygen for a length of time significant
enough to cause severe anoxic enzephalopathie. In other
words: brain damage caused by lack of oxygen to the brain
has to be four minutes. This is an example of what a normal
brain looks like. And then this is an example of one with changes similar
to what Otto had, where you can see that the ventricles are huge. And the
rest of the brain tissue is really shrunken, meaning that the brain was
deprived of oxygen for a significant amount of time. If he was struck
here he might have changes here but then he would may also have something
called contre-coup-injury which is across the brain to this side of the
head he might have changes as well.â But what caused the brain injury?
Waterboarding? Electric shocks? A suicide attempt? âAll
possible,â she says. Including Pyongyangâs
own explanation. âIf they gave him something to sedate
him that made him stop breathing for a period of time, a long enough
period of time - absolutely.â Her specialists also examined
the scar on his foot. Their findings were inconclusive. âI canât argue with anybody that says:
hey, this could have been caused by electrodes. It could have been, but
maybe it was something that was placed on the skin that got infected.
That could have been too. So there is nothing specific
about that healed scar.â What remains is the allegation that
Warmbierâs lower teeth were forcibly twisted. Yet, the coroner says
there would be signs of trauma. âThis is an example of changes that he
had in his lower teeth. The forensic ondontologist looked at it as well and
agreed that there was no trauma at all to those roots. And you canât pull
teeth out and then rearrange them and put them in different places without
there being trauma to the roots.â If I had evidence and
concrete evidence that there was a criminal act
here I would be very loud it and would definitely
be stating that. Unfortunately, the evidence we
have does not point to anything in particular as far as: This
is what happened to him.â At first, the coroner withholds the
results, out of respect for the mourning family. But in her
mailbox she also found warnings. âIt felt vaguely
threatening, and... and that I was being
disloyal to the president. That I shouldnât disagree with the
president especially in a public way.â Efforts to get to the bottom of the
Warmbier case have resulted in countless files and articles. Much
of the information is contradictory. Establishing the truth would also pose
a challenge to the federal court in Washington, where the Warmbiers
file a lawsuit against North Korea. With the help of government-friendly
experts and lawyers. Pyongyang does not
contest the case, and the trial takes place
with the plaintiffs only. And strangely enough, without
Flueckiger and the coroner appearing as witnesses. One expert witness urges the judge
to hand down a spectacular verdict. âI replied I do believe that this case
has the potential to go beyond the personal tragedies suffered by the
Warmbier family and perhaps one day save lives. That is, deter North Korea
with the right punitive damages and the judgement that
the judge will make.â The expert continues making
controversial claims. Citing the question of Otto Warmbierâs
teeth, for example. âHis teeth were in perfect fine
alignment, straight. When he was returned it was clear - at least two
of his lower teeth had been realigned which is a polite way of saying
plugged out and then shoved back in.â He also claims that North Korea
tortured Warmbier to deter the US from military action. But Washington didnât even
know of his condition. âI can follow that they need a hostage
if they provoke the world as some kind of security or asset. But that doesnât
work if you kill the asset. How should that work? What reason do
they have to kill the asset?â âSo this is a slightly different angle
of discussion. Very important but did North Korea intend to
kill its victim or not? I donât know for sure but that does
not matter in the legal case.â In the end, the court orders North
Korea to pay half a billion dollars. Based, on the presidentâs confirmation
âthat North Korea tortured Ottoâ. For a while, the Warmbiers publicly
stand by the president; lending their support to his fight against
the North Korean dictatorship. âAfter a shameful trial Otto
was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. Ottos wonderful parents Fred and Cindy
Warmbier are here with us tonight.
Please. You are powerful witnesses to a
menace that threatens our world. And your strength inspires us all.
Thank you very much.â At some point, the North Korean leader
clearly decides that his rockets provide the country with sufficient
protection. Maybe heâs spent enough time studying the US President to see
he only needs to compliment Trump to get his way. And although
Kim refuses to demobilize, Trump starts to praise
him like never before. He even exonerates Kim
in the Warmbier case. âI donât think that the top leadership
knew about it. You know, you got a lot of people, big country, lot of people.
And in those prisons and those camps you have a lot of people. And some
really bad things happened to Otto. Some really really bad things. But he
tells me that he didnât know about it, and I will take him at his word.
Yes Maâam go ahead please! Otto has served his purpose. Kim
Jong-un is a friend of Donald Trump. âHe wrote me beatiful letters.
Great letters. We fell in love.â The Warmbiers are shocked
- and react in writing: âKim and his evil regime are
responsible for the death of our son. No excuses or lavish
praise can change that.â âI had a call and talked to Fred
and Cindy just to check in. Every now and then we talk a bit and
that was an important moment cause I knew that they? that it
must have been emotional. Itâs hard for me to explain
President Trumpâs tactics in this. I am supportive of engagement
with North Korea, obviously. I am not a fan of the high-wire
personal diplomacy because it might work on a tactical level but when
it fails? weâre on a brink of war.â âI would hope that he wasn't trying to
use the family. I think he genuinely felt for the family and for Otto. But
then his statements about Kim Jong Un, my buddy and? are very
disconcerting and disappointing.â In New York we soon come across
more disturbing details. Allegedly the official torture claim was
controversial from the outset within the Trump-administration.
Says ex-diplomat Evans Revere. He received a call after citing the
accusation in a radio broadcast. âI cited the New York Times story
and the fact that a US-Government official apparently had confirmed
that there had been torture. This made the senior official
who called me rather upset. And he made a point of calling me
directly and saying that there had been no torture, that Otto came
back and it was obvious that he had well cared for in the hospital that
he didnât have any bedsores or the things that you would normally
expect of a torture victim to have. I said: Iâm not confirming it Iâm not
denying it Iâm just repeating what he had said. And he said: well
I just want to let you know for the record that
there was no torture.â We ask in Washington if thatâs true.
The White House doesnât answer. The State Department responds by saying:
âWe wonât have a comment on this.â When we ask for permission to
film Otto Warmbierâs grave, his mother agrees to accompany us. Hours later, itâs clear
she isnât coming. She texts us to cancel the interview. A year later we meet in Berlin. The
Warmbiers now see themselves as international campaigners against
North Korea. For Ottoâs sake. âThatâs Otto and I. We did
a Tandem-Bicycle race. And thatâs Otto playing Football.
And he loved that.â They also show us
previously unseen pictures. âAnd thatâs how Otto looked when he
was home. Thatâs Otto with his Mom.â They are plagued by more than their
loss. They still need clarity. âThat doesnât just happen. He
didnât have any scars on his body. That doesnât just happen.
Think about this.â âA 21 year old kid who, like I
described, works out all the time, eats healthy - how do you end
up a vegetable otherwise?â And Flueckiger? How does he feel about
the mission that both succeeded and failed? Shortly after his return home to
Cartersville, Georgia, news channels claim that the US paid North Korea two
million dollars for hospital costs - which is later denied. And North Korea insists that
Warmbier returned home healthy. âThe North Koreans said they had
released Otto in good shape and he died in the US.
Whatâs your comment on that? âYes, I know. Look at that they took
him back to America and he died in 6 days. When I read that all I can
do is shake my head. Right?â âToo many lies,â he says.
And: âI was only the doctor.â
Played soccer with him and grew up with him. Entitled kid and family. Unpopular opinion, I'm sure. But the truth.
Edit: I'll add that the only person I feel bad for is his younger sibling. Kids don't get to decide what situation they get put in. The child's behavior is a reflection of the parents.
Iâm interested in what conclusions this will draw, but I couldnât take watching this. Has anyone seen it and can summarize?
Even if you are from a country that doesn't explicitly ban travel to it, don't go to North Korea.
While what happened to him was terrible, I canât imagine, why he would have attempted it? Iâm mean, they were all briefed, right? NK is no place to mess around. He wasnât a clueless person, was he? This is like seeing all the danger signs posted and still climbing into the wild tiger enclosure. Just nuts.
Couldnât he have just...idk...asked for a framed portrait of Dear Leader? Iâm sure they wouldâve been happy to oblige. Sounds like he was kind of a dumbass, like all Christian missionary types.
He didn't deserve what happened to him but talk about some poor life choices.
Well, it's unavailable.. :/
I can totally see what happened. Drinking alcohol, making the decision to see a restricted area, stealing a poster as a souvenir and proof you were on the 5th floor-getting arrested, but still feeling good-after all, you only took a poster off a wall-then dread, horror-this is going on forever! Then, whatever caused him brain damage happens. Go home a vegetable-all because of a single-seemingly harmless alcohol fueled bad decision. Crazy.
I've watched/read a ton about Otto's journey to and from NK. This documentary shows everyone in the world, for the first time, photos from inside his hospital room after he arrived back from NK, by Otto's parents. The scar that is shown on his foot in those photos is also denied by the American doctor who gave him a full body examination in NK of being there. Strange to me why the doctor would seemingly try to cover that up.
Also, watching a different interview from Otto's parents, describing seeing Otto on the plane immediately after its arrival is truly heartbreaking. They were told he was in a coma, but that was not true. He was fully awake, even though the accompanying doctor sedated him. Otto's dad said Otto made eye contact with him and began to let out gut wrenching screams, in tones he had never made before. His brain was mush at this time, but it seemed like he was trying to cry out to his parents all of the horrible he had been through.
Also, check out the documentary Camp 14 - Total Control Zone. It's an eyewitness account from Shin Dong-Huyk, a former NK prisoner, who was tortured and starved in one of NK's most notorious concentration camps.