Otto apologised and begged, at first calmly, then in tears, to go home. He got his wish, but in the worst way.

OVER and over, Otto Warmbier apologised and begged — at first calmly, then choking up and finally in tears — to be reunited with his family.

North Korean officials seated at long tables watched impassively, with cameras rolling and journalists taking notes, as the adventuresome, accomplished 21-year-old college student from suburban Cincinnati talked animatedly about the “severe crime” that had put him there: trying to take a propaganda banner for someone back home, supposedly in return for a used car and to impress a semi-secret society he wanted to join, and all under the supposed direction of the US government.

“I have made the worst mistake of my life!” he exclaimed as his formally staged February 29, 2016 “confession” to anti-state activities ended in Pyongyang. More than 15 months later, he was finally reunited with his parents and two younger siblings.

Whether he was even aware of that is uncertain.

He died on Monday afternoon, US time, surrounded by his family after suffering a “severe neurological injury” that has doctors mystified.

Source: Otto Warmbier dies after being released by North Korea