Death of freed US student mystery, says N.Korea

Pyongyang, June 23 (IANS) North Korea on Friday said the death of a US student it freed earlier this month was a "mystery" as his health indicators and examination results were all normal when he left Pyongyang.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said North Korea gave Otto Warmbier all the available medical treatment and care on a humanitarian basis until his return to the US on June 13 and that he was not mistreated or tortured during his 18-month detention, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Although we had no reason at all to show mercy to such a criminal of the enemy state, we provided him with medical treatment and care with all sincerity on a humanitarian basis until his return to the US," he added.

Warmbier, 22, died on June 19 after arriving home in a comatose state.

He was sentenced by a North Korean court to 15 years of hard labour in March 2016 for anti-Pyongyang activities.

"As for groundless public opinion now circulating in the US that he died of torture and beating during his reform through labour, the American doctors who came to North Korea for repatriation of Warmbier will have something to say about it," said the spokesman.

The US doctors "examined Warmbier and exchanged medical observations about him" with North Korean doctors, and "recognised that his health indicators like his pulse, temperature, respiration and the examination results of the heart and lung were all normal", said the spokesman.

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