Donald Trump Speaks Out On The Death Of Otto Warmbier

President Donald Trump  on Monday spoke out about the death of Otto Warmbier , the University of Virginia student who died after spending more than a year imprisoned in North Korea.

Trump said during a technology roundtable event that Warmbier faced tough conditions in detention and called North Korea a “brutal regime,” Reuters reports. 

Trump directed the State Department to secure Warmbier’s release  last week. Warmbier left North Korea in a Medivac flight because he had been in a coma since March 2016, according to his family.

Doctors who examined Warmbier after his arrival in the U.S. said he suffered a severe brain injury and was in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness.” His parents confirmed his death on Monday.

Warmbier was first apprehended  at Pyongyang International Airport when he was a 21-year-old junior at the University of Virginia and on a group tour to North Korea. He was accused of “perpetrating a hostile act against the DPRK” and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor. 

Other lawmakers mourned his death, including Sen. Rob Portman (R), who represents Warmbier’s home state of Ohio.

“He was kind, generous and accomplished,” Portman said. “He had all the talent you could ever ask for and a bright future ahead of him.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.