U.S. student sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea | NK News
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September 22, 2026Sep 22, 2026

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U.S. student sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea

Details of sentencing yet to be revealed

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly sourced the news to KCNA

A U.S. student on Wednesday received a 15-year sentence of hard labor in North Korea, the Kyodo and AP news agencies said on Wednesday, the third American to be detained in the past 12 months.

Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old student from the University of Virginia, was sentenced after a one hour trial and charged with subversion, the AP news agency said, who reported on the event several hours ahead of state media outlet the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA).

The student, who had entered North Korea “under the guise” of tourism, had the “purpose