Trump's North Korea Initiative a Complete Disaster

American Otto Warmbier, a college student, was arrested in North Korea in 2016 for taking a propaganda poster. Immediately after his imprisonment he was rendered comatose, with severe brain damage; it was not until 2017 that North Korea acknowledged his condition. An American team flew to Pyongyang to retrieve him, but it turns out that securing Warmbier’s release was even more complicated than we previously knew. The North Koreans demanded that America agree to pay $2 million for Warmbier’s extensive medical care before he would be released.

State Department official Joseph Yun called then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and told him about the bill. Tillerson called Trump. They instructed their envoy to sign the piece of paper agreeing that he would pay the $2 million, the two people said.

Fred Warmbier, Otto’s father, said he was never told about the hospital bill. He said it sounded like a “ransom” for his son.

Trump, for his part, has maintained that Kim did not know about Warmbier’s imprisonment and injuries, based on the dictator’s own say-so.

Warmbier’s brain damage while in North Korean hands and subsequent death caused widespread shock in the United States, but the news that North Korea expected the U.S. government to pay for his care has caused further backlash.

“This is outrageous. They killed a perfectly healthy and happy college student and then had the audacity to expect the U.S. government to pay for his care,” said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.

This news comes on the heels of reports that the hermit kingdom has re-started testing of weapon systems and has publicly stated that it no longer wants to deal with Trump's principle negotiator Mike Pompeo.  

Kim Jong-un also made a visit to Russia this week, telling Vladimir Putin that "the situation on the Korean peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point."  Jong-un warned the situation "may return to its original state as the U.S. took an unilateral attitude in bad faith" during recent talks.

Paying ransom for a hostage and then getting nothing in return-- Trump sure is on the fast track to the Nobel Prize, isn't he?