The denuclearization summit with North Korea might not have happened without the death of American student Otto Warmbier, President Trump said Tuesday.
“I think without Otto, this would not have happened,” Mr. Trump said in Singapore after signing an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. “Otto was someone who did not die in vain.”
Mr. Warmbier, 22, died from brain injury last June shortly after being released in a coma by North Korea. The Ohio student had been imprisoned in 2016 for the theft of a propaganda poster while visiting the country.
Asked Tuesday about North Korea’s human-rights abuses, Mr. Trump turned the discussion to Mr. Warmbier.
“Something happened from that day,” the president said. “It was a terrible thing. It was brutal. But a lot of people started to focus on what was going on, including North Korea. I really think that Otto is someone who did not die in vain. I told this to his parents. Special young man. And I have to say, special parents, special people. Otto did not die in vain. He had a lot to do with this.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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