UVA student reportedly arrested in North Korea for 'hostile acts'

North Korea said Friday that it arrested University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier, 21, for allegedly committing a "hostile act" against the state. Warmbier was reportedly arrested Jan. 2 at Pyongyang airport as he prepared to depart from a five-day trip to North Korea over New Years Eve, just four days before North Korea carried out its nuclear test.
North Korea has yet to release any details about the alleged "hostile act," but the notoriously isolated nation did say that Warmbier entered as a tourist with the intention "to destroy the country's unity" and that the U.S. government had "tolerated and manipulated him" BBC reports.
"We are in touch with Otto's family, the U.S. State Department, and the Embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang and doing all we can to secure his release," Gareth Johnson of China-based tour agency Young Pioneer Tours, which organized Warmbier's visit, said. Sweden is responsible for handling U.S. consular issues with North Korea since Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Warmbier is in his third year at UVA and, according to the university's website, is a commerce student. He is the third known Westerner to be held in North Korea.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A tomato fight, painting behind bars, and more
-
Mountainhead: Jesse Armstrong's tech bro satire sparkles with 'weapons-grade zingers'
The Week Recommends The Succession creator's first feature film lacks the hit TV show's 'dramatic richness' – but makes for a horribly gripping watch
-
Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists – a 'riveting' exhibition
The Week Recommends Pallant House exhibition offers fascinating instances of painterly reciprocity
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers