So what did he die of? His physical examination showed no evidence of trauma with all organs functioning normally other than his brain.

What a shame. What a damn shame.

O.k., I'm all for personal responsibility, facing the consequences of our actions and all of that, but there are limits to everything. This is an extraordinary situation, wherein the poor kid could never be expected to understand the peril in which his dumb prank placed him. It was so far beyond reasonable, so far beyond any sane man's imagination, that I do not feel he should have been held to that level of responsibility.

If this had happened anywhere else, I'd be saying "yeah, let the smart ass cool his heels in jail for a month or two - maybe he will learn something". This, however, was orders of magnitude beyond that. And that is where I believe that citizenship should have its privileges - the United States government should look after us if we get ourselves into this sort of a situation. If we fall prey to a madman, or fall prey to horribly unjust laws and punishments, then I think it is our collective responsibility to cover one another. Our instrument for doing that is our Federal Government.

I think we need to send a message to the rotund little bastard. Not through our military, but through further economic sanctions. Let China know it's time to choose - join the "First World" economy and trade with the big players, or continue to molly coddle this Swiss cheese binging, Bud Lite swilling fat-tard. Tighten the noose until he cannot breathe.

The only reason why the Trump administration got him back is because he was already close to dying.

If he was still somewhat healthy, I truly believe NK would have held onto him even longer.

Korea has a lot of people who can easily turn to crime if the NK regime were to fall. Way worse than Egypt or Iraq because they have a military and technological mindset. I sort of wonder if most of the bluster, testing nukes, etc might be a ploy to keep their own people under control.

The history of Korea is one of constant upheaval and revolution. They are almost ungovernable, and in a way it is remarkable that the current regime has lasted as long as it has, and somehow unified the south at the same time.

Exactly this. NK didn't realized that he was no use or no fun if he was in a coma. They may have even thought "crap, we don't want him to die here." so they sent him back. It had NOTHING to do with Trump or Obama.

^ +1

At least he is home.

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I disagree completely. This was a Darwin Award winner, nothing more. Traveling to a different country you are expected to research and understand the culture and laws of the land. And respect them. Travel to North Korea and better spend a few months knowing everything you can about the most bizarre, insane, brutal dictatorship known today, one that just happens to hate the U.S. Better be on your absolute best behavior every second you are there.

This guy walked into a cage with a honey badger wearing a suit made out of flank steaks.

What could go wrong?

speculation,

communists are known to use chemicals as part of interrogation. his brain was probably cooked by too much sodium pentothol.

a little victim blaming here. he should have known better than to wear the short skirt. but that in no way absolves the rapist.

So, do we REALLY know if this poor kid did 'anything' wrong? Obviously we can't believe ANYTHING spewing out of NK. Personally I can't fathom why we've, or most other nations, have left this punk dictator alive this long. Hoping he meets up with one of his pet dogs real soon. One things for sure, Otto paid one helluva price, and my prayers and thoughts go out to his grieving family. :(

They do have video of him taking a poster off a wall in a hotel. Should he be dead because of it? Of course not but should he have known it was a possibility if he did? Absolutely

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I heard the he was recorded stealing some poster off a wall...or some such.

I don't think anyone is saying what he did was a good idea. Nobody in their right mind should be going to NK. But he really didn't deserve what he got. I'd say he deserved it if he got a year and was smacked around a bit. But this is pretty sick.

Thank you.

So the Norks grabbed a U.S. Citizen, perhaps at random, made a big spectacle of it then rendered his brain into a useless goo.

My thinking is the poor kid was already doped up in those video leaks as if they chemically suppressed everything but his emotions.

This was a new kind of torture.

How is it that Kim Jong-un has not been assassinated by his own people or some world power?

^^^

My question, too.

That video hardly proves that Otto is the one stealing the poster. In my opinion, the body movements of that person seem much, much older. More like someone 40+ years of age.

I am somewhat adventurous, but there's no way I would consider visiting North Korea. Perhaps the DMZ on the South Korea side would be cool, but that's as close as I would get.

Not saying the kid had it coming, but it was a very risky visit. He had to be aware of the potential consequences. It would be interesting to know how many Americans the Chinese tour company that took him there actually bring in to the country. A few? Hundreds?

I'll bet the online Yelp reviews for the North Korea tour via China are in the dump anyway. We got downtown L.A. right?

This time it was Otto. Next time: somebody else.

Being a stoopid westerner, no matter how stoopid, does not diminish the barbarity. Best let Kim isolate himself even more. At some point, he'll be stubbed out like a cigarette butt and with just about as much fanfare.