It's time to end engagement with North Korea



Opinion It’s time to end engagement with North Korea The tragic case of Otto Warmbier confirms that the DPRK cannot be changed through tourism Benjamin R. Young June 20, 2017 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON PYONGYANG CITY METRO DPR KOREA OCT 2012 by calflier001 on 2012-10-23 07:19:15 Today’s news of the tragic death of Otto Warmbier should serve as a turning point in how the world engages North Korea. The brutality and denial of proper medical care for over a year ultimately doomed this 22-year-old college student. No one deserves that kind of treatment. North Korea did not release Warmbier on “humanitarian” grounds, as they claim. Instead, they whisked him away before he died, so they could deny any wrongdoing and chalk it up to botulism and a sleeping pill. Denial has been North Korea’s modus operandi for decades. It is time to stop giving them free passes. Today’s news of the tragic death of Otto Warmbier should serve as a turning point in how the world engages North Korea. The brutality and denial of proper medical care for over a year ultimately doomed this 22-year-old college student. No one deserves that kind of treatment. North Korea did not release Warmbier on “humanitarian” grounds, as they claim. Instead, they whisked him away before he died, so they could deny any wrongdoing and chalk it up to botulism and a sleeping pill. Denial has been North Korea’s modus operandi for decades. It is time to stop giving them free passes. Become a member for less than $4 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Opinion

It’s time to end engagement with North Korea

The tragic case of Otto Warmbier confirms that the DPRK cannot be changed through tourism

Benjamin R. Young June 20, 2017

It’s time to end engagement with North Korea

PYONGYANG CITY METRO DPR KOREA OCT 2012 by calflier001 on 2012-10-23 07:19:15

Today’s news of the tragic death of Otto Warmbier should serve as a turning point in how the world engages North Korea. The brutality and denial of proper medical care for over a year ultimately doomed this 22-year-old college student. No one deserves that kind of treatment.

North Korea did not release Warmbier on “humanitarian” grounds, as they claim. Instead, they whisked him away before he died, so they could deny any wrongdoing and chalk it up to botulism and a sleeping pill. Denial has been North Korea’s modus operandi for decades. It is time to stop giving them free passes.