In the wake of the news of Otto Warmbier’s death, Young Pioneer Tours, the travel company that brought Warmbier to North Korea, announced it would no longer be bringing Americans to North Korea. The company published a statement regarding the matter Tuesday.
“The devastating loss of Otto Warmbier's life has led us to reconsider our position on accepting American tourists,” the statement said. “There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result. Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high.”
The statement also claimed the company tried repeatedly to meet with or contact Warmbier, but that North Korean officials denied these requests, assuring the company Warmbier was fine.
This announcement comes after Otto Warmbier died Monday. Otto returned from 17 months of imprisonment in North Korea last week. His doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center described him as being in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness.”
After their son’s death, Otto’s parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, released a statement.
“When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13, he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable — almost anguished,” the statement said. “Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed — he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.”
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