Jun 13, 2017 - World

North Korea releases imprisoned American student

Kim Kwang Hyon / AP

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced this morning that American student Otto Warmbier, who attended UVA, was released from North Korea, per the AP.

Think back: Warmbier was imprisoned by North Korea last March after stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel while in the country on vacation. He was sentenced to 15 years in a hard labor camp.

More news: The Washington Post reports that Warmbier is currently in a coma and being medically evacuated. North Korea claims that he contracted botulism shortly after his trial last year and never woke up after being given a sleeping pill.

Worth considering: Former NBA star and noted Kim Jong-Un pal Dennis Rodman headed to North Korea yesterday, but WaPo's Anna Fifield calls the timing a "bizarre coincidence" and "perhaps a deliberate attempt by North Korea to distract."

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