The family of a US student who died after he was jailed in North Korea have implicitly rebuked President Donald Trump’s lauding of Kim Jong-un.
Otto Warmbier’s parents said they had been “respectful” during Trump and the North Korean leader’s recent summit, but were now speaking out.
They said “no excuse or lavish praise can change” that “Kim and his evil regime” killed their son.
Their statement came after Trump heaped compliments on Kim.
Trump’s second nuclear summit with Kim in Vietnam ended without agreement.
After the family’s blistering statement was released, Trump took to Twitter where he said he had been “misinterpreted”.
What did the Warmbiers say?
The family released a brief statement on Friday condemning praise for the North Korean leader, without mentioning Trump by name.
“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out,” wrote Fred and Cindy Warmbier.
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto.
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity.
“No excuse or lavish praise can change that.”
Warmbier was jailed in Pyongyang in January 2016 during an organised tour, accused of stealing a hotel poster.
The University of Virginia student was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour, but released after 17 months.
The 22-year-old was returned to the US in a vegetative state in June 2017, and died days later in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Warmbiers attended the 2018 State of the Union speech as the president’s guests, weeping as he called them “powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world”.
What did Trump say about Kim?
Trump told reporters in Hanoi on Thursday morning, referring to Warmbier’s death: “He [Kim] tells me he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word.”
The president added that the North Korean leader felt “very badly” about the case.
In a Fox News interview aired late on Thursday, Trump said Kim was “sharp as you can be” and “a real leader”.
“Some people say I shouldn’t like him,” the US president told host Sean Hannity, a vocal Trump advocate. “Why shouldn’t I like him?”
The president – who is now back at the White House – said he gets along “really well” with Kim.
“And he’s a real personality and he’s very smart. He’s sharp as you can be, and he’s a real leader, and he’s pretty mercurial.
“I don’t say that necessarily in a bad way, but he’s a pretty mercurial guy.”
Explaining why the summit broke down, Trump said: “Well, they wanted to denuke certain areas and I wanted everything.”
The Fox host defended the president’s decision to walk away, recommending a reading of Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal, to truly “understand” his tactics.
