FILE - In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea. Warmbier, whose parents say has been in a coma while serving a 15-year prison term in North Korea, was released and returned to the United States Tuesday, June 13, 2017, as the Trump administration revealed a rare exchange with the reclusive country. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File) </s> PYONGYANG, North Korea — American college student Otto Warmbier has been released after more than 17 months in detention in North Korea but has been in a coma for over a year, according to his parents.

The 22-year-old contracted botulism and is in “bad shape” but en route back to the United States, a source close to the family told CNN.

“Otto has left North Korea. He is on Medivac flight on his way home. Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March of 2016. We learned of this only one week ago,” said Fred and Cindy Warmbier in a statement.

“We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime in North Korean. We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him.”

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also confirmed Warmbier’s release in a statement.

Warmbier was detained in January 2016 at the airport in Pyongyang while on his way home. His parents say the University of Virginia student had been on a tour of the reclusive country.

North Korean authorities said they had security footage of him trying to steal a banner containing a political slogan that was hanging from the walls of his Pyongyang hotel.

That was used as evidence in his hour-long trial, during which North Korea accused him of committing “hostile acts” against the regime at the urging of a purported member of a church in his home state of Ohio, a secretive university organization and the CIA.

Warmbier was found guilty and sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years hard labor. It was the last time he was seen publicly.

“Otto’s detainment and sentence was unnecessary and appalling, and North Korea should be universally condemned for its abhorrent behavior. Otto should have been released from the start,” said US Sen. Rob Portman, who represents Warmbier’s home state of Ohio. “Fred, Cindy, and the Warmbier family have been remarkably strong throughout this ordeal. Over the last 18 months, they have had to endure more than any family should have to bear.”

The news of Warmbier’s release comes the same day as basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in Pyongyang for an expected four-night visit. But there is no connection between the two events, US National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said.

Rodman isn’t representing the US government or serving as President Donald Trump’s emissary, Anton said.

When asked if he would bring up the cases of Warmbier and three other Americans detained in North Korea, Rodman told reporters, “that’s not my purpose right now … My purpose is to go over there and try to see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea.”

A source familiar with the government’s efforts to free Warmbier says the State Department learned about the student’s medical condition about a week ago. US officials then urged those with the ability to persuade Pyongyang to ratchet up the pressure to get him released, the source said.

Rodman had nothing to do with his release, the source added.

There are three other Americans currently being held in North Korea.

Two of them, Kim Sang Duk and Kim Hak-song, are academics who worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. The other is a businessman named Kim Dong Chul.

Tillerson said the US is discussing their respective cases with the North Korean regime. The US does not have a diplomatic mission in North Korea.

But their fates have been hanging in the balance as Pyongyang and Washington have seen relations get testier in recent months.

North Korea has fired 16 missiles in 10 tests this year. Experts say each launch gets the country closer to its stated goal of developing a nuclear-armed weapon capable of reaching the United States.

North Korea believes its missile program is the only way to deter Washington from trying to overthrow the regime of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.

Warmbier appeared emotional at a news conference organized by the North Koreans before his trial in March 2016.

He tearfully confessed to being “lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country.”

It’s not clear if he was forced to speak by the North Koreans.

His case largely stayed quiet after that until May of this year, when his parents decided it was time to speak out.

When they spoke to CNN on May 3, they said they had not seen or heard from Otto since his supposed confession.

“With tensions as high as they are, we felt that we needed to talk about Otto and put a face on the person,” Cindy Warmbier said.

Despite the increasingly hostile US-North Korean relationship, the Warmbiers said they were encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s willingness to improve relations with North Korea. </s> PYONGYANG, North Korea — American college student Otto Warmbier has been released after more than 17 months in detention in North Korea but has been in a coma for over a year, according to his parents.

The 22-year-old contracted botulism and is in “bad shape” but en route back to the United States, a source close to the family told CNN.

“Otto has left North Korea. He is on Medivac flight on his way home. Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March of 2016. We learned of this only one week ago,” said Fred and Cindy Warmbier in a statement.

“We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime in North Korean. We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him.”

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also confirmed Warmbier’s release in a statement.

Warmbier was detained in January 2016 at the airport in Pyongyang while on his way home. His parents say the University of Virginia student had been on a tour of the reclusive country.

North Korean authorities said they had security footage of him trying to steal a banner containing a political slogan that was hanging from the walls of his Pyongyang hotel.

That was used as evidence in his hour-long trial, during which North Korea accused him of committing “hostile acts” against the regime at the urging of a purported member of a church in his home state of Ohio, a secretive university organization and the CIA.

Warmbier was found guilty and sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years hard labor. It was the last time he was seen publicly.

“Otto’s detainment and sentence was unnecessary and appalling, and North Korea should be universally condemned for its abhorrent behavior. Otto should have been released from the start,” said US Sen. Rob Portman, who represents Warmbier’s home state of Ohio. “Fred, Cindy, and the Warmbier family have been remarkably strong throughout this ordeal. Over the last 18 months, they have had to endure more than any family should have to bear.”

The news of Warmbier’s release comes the same day as basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in Pyongyang for an expected four-night visit. But there is no connection between the two events, US National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said.

Rodman isn’t representing the US government or serving as President Donald Trump’s emissary, Anton said.

When asked if he would bring up the cases of Warmbier and three other Americans detained in North Korea, Rodman told reporters, “that’s not my purpose right now … My purpose is to go over there and try to see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea.”

Rodman had nothing to do with his release, said a source familiar with the government’s efforts to free Warmbier.

Since last March, the US had been pressing North Korea to let Swedish officials see the four Americans, a senior State Department official told CNN. When the Swedes finally got the okay to visit, the North Koreans immediately asked for a meeting with Joe Yun, the US envoy in New York, when he was told about Otto Warmbier’s condition.

In that meeting about a week ago, Yun was told that Warmbier had contracted botulism a year ago and went into a coma after taking a sleeping pill. US officials then urged those with the ability to persuade Pyongyang to ratchet up the pressure to get him released, said the source, who is familiar with the government’s efforts.

A second senior State Department official said the US has not yet accepted the North Korean version of events in terms of the timing and cause of how Otto went into a coma.

“All we know so far is what they have told us,” the official said. “This is the North Korean version of events. We won’t know anything for sure until doctors are able to fully evaluate Otto’s condition.”

Two of the three other Americans being held in North Korea, Kim Sang Duk and Kim Hak-song, are academics who worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. The other is a businessman named Kim Dong Chul.

Tillerson said the US is discussing their respective cases with the North Korean regime. The US does not have a diplomatic mission in North Korea.

But their fates have been hanging in the balance as Pyongyang and Washington have seen relations get testier in recent months.

North Korea has fired 16 missiles in 10 tests this year. Experts say each launch gets the country closer to its stated goal of developing a nuclear-armed weapon capable of reaching the United States.

North Korea believes its missile program is the only way to deter Washington from trying to overthrow the regime of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.

Warmbier appeared emotional at a news conference organized by the North Koreans before his trial in March 2016.

He tearfully confessed to being “lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country.”

It’s not clear if he was forced to speak by the North Koreans.

His case largely stayed quiet after that until May of this year, when his parents decided it was time to speak out.

When they spoke to CNN on May 3, they said they had not seen or heard from Otto since his supposed confession.

“With tensions as high as they are, we felt that we needed to talk about Otto and put a face on the person,” Cindy Warmbier said.

Despite the increasingly hostile US-North Korean relationship, the Warmbiers said they were encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s willingness to improve relations with North Korea. </s> PYONGYANG, North Korea — American college student Otto Warmbier has been released after more than 17 months in detention in North Korea but has been in a coma for over a year, according to his parents.

The 22-year-old contracted botulism and is in “bad shape” but en route back to the United States, a source close to the family told CNN.

“Otto has left North Korea. He is on Medivac flight on his way home. Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March of 2016. We learned of this only one week ago,” said Fred and Cindy Warmbier in a statement.

“We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime in North Korean. We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him.”

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also confirmed Warmbier’s release in a statement.

Warmbier was detained in January 2016 at the airport in Pyongyang while on his way home. His parents say the University of Virginia student had been on a tour of the reclusive country.

North Korean authorities said they had security footage of him trying to steal a banner containing a political slogan that was hanging from the walls of his Pyongyang hotel.

That was used as evidence in his hour-long trial, during which North Korea accused him of committing “hostile acts” against the regime at the urging of a purported member of a church in his home state of Ohio, a secretive university organization and the CIA.

Warmbier was found guilty and sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years hard labor. It was the last time he was seen publicly.

“Otto’s detainment and sentence was unnecessary and appalling, and North Korea should be universally condemned for its abhorrent behavior. Otto should have been released from the start,” said US Sen. Rob Portman, who represents Warmbier’s home state of Ohio. “Fred, Cindy, and the Warmbier family have been remarkably strong throughout this ordeal. Over the last 18 months, they have had to endure more than any family should have to bear.”

The news of Warmbier’s release comes the same day as basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in Pyongyang for an expected four-night visit.

When asked if he would bring up the cases of Warmbier and three other Americans detained in North Korea, Rodman told reporters, “That’s not my purpose right now … My purpose is to go over there and try to see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea.”

There are three other Americans currently being held in North Korea.

Two of them, Kim Sang Duk and Kim Hak-song, are academics who worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. The other is a businessman named Kim Dong Chul.

Tillerson said the US is discussing their respective cases with the North Korean regime. The US does not have a diplomatic mission in North Korea.

But their fates have been hanging in the balance as Pyongyang and Washington have seen relations get testier in recent months.

North Korea has fired 16 missiles in 10 tests this year. Experts say each launch gets the country closer to its stated goal of developing a nuclear-armed weapon capable of reaching the United States.

North Korea believes its missile program is the only way to deter Washington from trying to overthrow the regime of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.

Warmbier appeared emotional at a news conference organized by the North Koreans before his trial in March 2016.

He tearfully confessed to being “lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country.”

It’s not clear if he was forced to speak by the North Koreans.

His case largely stayed quiet after that until May of this year, when his parents decided it was time to speak out.

When they spoke to CNN on May 3, they said they had not seen or heard from Otto since his supposed confession.

“With tensions as high as they are, we felt that we needed to talk about Otto and put a face on the person,” Cindy Warmbier said.

Despite the increasingly hostile US-North Korean relationship, the Warmbiers said they were encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s willingness to improve relations with North Korea. </s> WASHINGTON — North Korea has released Otto Warmbier, the American student serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged subversion, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was convicted in March 2016 of attempting to steal a propaganda banner from a restricted area of his hotel at the request of an acquaintance.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor after a tearful one-hour trial.

Warmbier landed in Cincinnati late Tuesday night and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The State Department said in a statement earlier that Warmbier was headed to the U.S. to be reunited with his family, but said it would have no further comment on his case, citing privacy concerns.

The department "continues to have discussions with [North Korea] regarding the three other American citizens who are detained."

Warmbier’s parents told the Washington Post and the Associated Press that he was medically evacuated from the isolated nation in a coma. NBC News has attempted to reach Warmbier’s parents to confirm those reports. The student was evacuated via U.S. military base in Sapporo, Japan, the Post reported.

Warmbier arrived at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati just after 10 p.m. Tuesday night and was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment, officials said.

The University of Virginia, the school where Warmbier was a student before his imprisonment, said it was "deeply concerned and saddened to learn from his family that he is in a coma."

Warmbier had been staying at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which is located on an island in a river that runs through Pyongyang, the capital. It is common for sections of tourist hotels to be reserved for North Korean staff and off-limits to foreigners.

North Korea regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of sending spies to overthrow its government to enable the U.S.-backed South Korean government to control the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. tourism to North Korea is legal, but the U.S. State Department strongly advises against it.

The announcement came as former NBA player Dennis Rodman paid a return visit to North Korea. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday afternoon that Rodman “had nothing to do with the release” of Warmbier.

Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he hoped the privacy of Warmbier's family would be respected "in the weeks and months ahead."

In a statement, he said: “My first priority will be continuing to support Otto, his parents and family, whose strength and love of family inspire me every time I speak with them. North Korea’s despicable actions in detaining and holding Otto were unacceptable and must be condemned. "

Hans Nichols reported from Washington, D.C., and Alastair Jamieson reported from London, England </s> An American college student who was released from a North Korean prison is finally home but in a coma and undergoing treatment at an Ohio hospital where he was taken shortly after arriving on U.S. soil.

An airplane carrying Otto Warmbier, who is from Ohio, landed in Cincinnati late Tuesday night. The 22-year-old was then taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Warmbier was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor in North Korea for alleged anti-state acts.

In Warmbier's hometown of Wyoming, just outside of Cincinnati, residents helped tie blue and white ribbons, Wyoming High School's colors, to trees and said news of his release had sent waves of shock and joy through the community.

"Everybody feels a sense of relief that he is coming back to the United States," resident Amy Mayer said before he arrived. "I think we're very excited yet very prayerful about what is happening because we've heard he is in a coma. So I think that people are trying to be supportive of the family and let the community-family know that we are very with them."

A hospital spokeswoman said Warmbier's family was expected to hold a news conference Thursday morning at Wyoming High School.

Securing Warmbier's release "was a big priority" for President Donald Trump, who worked "very hard and very closely" with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

While North Korea's move to free Warmbier could potentially provide an opening for talks on security issues, the prospects still appear bleak. International negotiations on the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program have been in limbo for years, as the U.S. cranks up economic sanctions and North Korea won't give up weapons it considers a guarantee against invasion.

The detention of Americans, often sentenced to draconian prison sentences for seemingly small offenses in the totalitarian nation, has compounded tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Three Americans remain in custody.

Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial in North Korea's Supreme Court in March 2016. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion after he tearfully confessed that he had tried to steal a propaganda banner.

Warmbier's parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, said they were told he has been in a coma since his trial, when he was last seen in public, and they had learned of this only one week ago.

"We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime" in North Korea, Warmbier's parents said. "We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him."

A White House official said Trump had instructed Tillerson to take all appropriate measures to secure the release of Americans held in North Korea. The official referred to them as "hostages."

The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.

Warmbier's release came during a visit to North Korea by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, one of few people to have met both North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, who was Rodman's boss on "Celebrity Apprentice."

Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Rodman had nothing to do with Warmbier's release. Rodman, who has traveled to the isolated nation four times since 2013, had told reporters before arriving in Pyongyang that he hopes his trip will "open a door" for Trump.

North Korea poses one of the greatest national security challenges for Trump as it tries to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike America. He is looking to increase economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea, with help from China but has said he's open to meeting Kim.

In the past, North Korea has held out until senior U.S. officials or statesmen came to personally bail out detainees. A 2009 visit by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, secured the freedom of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Tillerson said the Department of State was continuing "to have discussions" with North Korea about the release of other three American citizens imprisoned there.

AP reporters Josh Lederman and Ken Thomas in Washington, Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, North Korea, Daniel Sewell in Cincinnati and video journalist Sara Gillesby in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Washington, D.C.- North Korea has released Otto Warmbier, the American student serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged subversion, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was convicted in March 2016 of attempting to steal a propaganda banner from a restricted area of his hotel at the request of an acquaintance.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor after a tearful one-hour trial.

In a statement, the State Department said Warmbier was “en route to the U.S. where he will be reunited with his family,” adding it would have no further comment on his case, citing privacy concerns.

It said the department “continues to have discussions with [North Korea] regarding the three other American citizens who are detained.”

The Washington Post reported that Warmbier was medically evacuated from the isolated state in a coma, citing his parents, although this report could not be independently confirmed by NBC News. The student was evacuated via a U.S. military base in Sapporo, Japan, the newspaper said.

Warmbier had been staying at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which is located on an island in a river that runs through Pyongyang, the capital. It is common for sections of tourist hotels to be reserved for North Korean staff and off-limits to foreigners.

North Korea regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of sending spies to overthrow its government to enable the U.S.-backed South Korean government to control the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. tourism to North Korea is legal, but the U.S. State Department strongly advises against it.

The announcement came as former NBA player Dennis Rodman paid a return visit to North Korea.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he hoped the privacy of Warmbier’s family would be respected “in the weeks and months ahead.”

In a statement, he said: “My first priority will be continuing to support Otto, his parents and family, whose strength and love of family inspire me every time I speak with them. North Korea’s despicable actions in detaining and holding Otto were unacceptable and must be condemned. ”

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 Note: By commenting below you agree to abide by the KOBI5.com commenting guidelines. View the KOBI5.com Comment Board Guidelines » </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption US student Otto Warmbier said he was "a poor scapegoat" before he was jailed in 2016

US student Otto Warmbier has been freed from jail in North Korea, but his parents say he has been in a coma for a year.

The 22-year-old was flown to the US and landed in Ohio late on Tuesday.

The Warmbier family told US media they had found out only last week that their son has been in a coma since shortly after his trial in March 2016.

Mr Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel.

On arrival in Ohio, he was being taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, US media reported.

Who is Otto Warmbier?

Otto Warmbier is an economics student from the University of Virginia, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was in North Korea as a tourist with Young Pioneer Tours when he was arrested on 2 January 2016.

He appeared emotional at a news conference a month later, in which he tearfully confessed to trying to take the sign as a "trophy" for a US church, adding: "The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people."

Foreign detainees in North Korea have previously recanted confessions, saying they were made under pressure.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Otto Warmbier's parents feared for his safety as tensions rose between the US and North Korea

After a short trial on 16 March, Mr Warmbier was given a 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state.

His parents Fred and Cindy told CNN in early May that they had had no contact with their son for more than a year.

What is his condition now?

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr and Mrs Warmbier said: "Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March 2016. We learned of this only one week ago."

They were quoted by the Washington Post as saying they had been told Otto had contracted botulism, a rare illness that causes paralysis, soon after his trial in March 2016.

He was given a sleeping pill and had been in a coma ever since, the newspaper said.

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made no mention of Mr Warmbier's condition in a statement, saying only that he was on his way home to be reunited with his family and would not make any further comment, out of respect for the privacy of the family.

Who else is detained in North Korea?

There are reported to be three other US citizens in custody in North Korea. They are:

Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised US citizen born in South Korea, who was sentenced to 10 years hard labour in April 2016 for spying

Korean-American professor Kim Sang-duk (or Tony Kim) who was detained in April 2017. The reasons for his arrest are not yet clear

Kim Hak-song, like Kim Sang-duk, worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) and was detained in May 2017 on suspicion of "hostile acts" against the state

The US has in the past accused North Korea of detaining its citizens to use them as pawns in negotiations over its nuclear weapons programme.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Dong-chul appeared on North Korea television a month after Otto Warmbier, also giving a tearful confession

The arrests have come at a time of heightened tension between North Korea and the US and its regional neighbours.

In other news on Tuesday, South Korea said it had found a North Korean drone that had crashed after taking photos of the US-funded Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad), which aims to protect the South from the North's missiles.

South Korea's military also reported that a North Korean soldier had defected across the heavily-protected Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a rare occurrence.

Why is Dennis Rodman in Pyonyang?

Mr Warmbier's release comes hours after US basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea.

Mr Rodman is a friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and has made several visits to the country in recent years.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Dennis Rodman was mobbed by the press at Beijing airport en route to Pyongyang

There was some speculation that he might plead the case for the American detainees, but en route to North Korea he told reporters "my purpose is to actually see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea".

He also said "I'm just trying to open the door", and added that he was "pretty much sure that [US President Trump] is happy with the fact that I am over here trying to accomplish something that we both need".

Mr Trump said in 2013 of Mr Rodman's then visit to North Korea: "You look at the world, the world is blowing up around us. Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have." </s> Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday confirmed North Korea has released Otto Warmbier, a US citizen serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged anti-state acts. (June 13, 2017) Associated Press

WASHINGTON — An American college student whose parents say he has been in a coma while serving a 15-year prison term in North Korea was released and returned to the United States Tuesday as the Trump administration revealed a rare exchange with the reclusive country.

An airplane carrying Otto Warmbier, who's from Ohio, arrived in Cincinnati shortly before 10:20 p.m. Two ambulances were parked near an airport hangar.

Warmbier's release came during a visit to North Korea by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, one of few people to have met both North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Rodman had nothing to do with Warmbier's release. Rodman had told reporters before arriving in Pyongyang that the issue of Americans detained by North Korea is "not my purpose right now."

Securing Warmbier's release "was a big priority" for President Donald Trump, who worked "very hard and very closely" with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

While North Korea's move to free Warmbier could potentially provide an opening for talks on security issues, the prospects still appear bleak. International negotiations on the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program have been in limbo for years, as the U.S. cranks up economic sanctions and North Korea won't give up weapons it considers a guarantee against invasion.

The detention of Americans, often sentenced to draconian prison sentences for seemingly small offenses in the totalitarian nation, has compounded tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Three Americans remain in custody.

Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial in North Korea's Supreme Court in March 2016. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion after he tearfully confessed that he had tried to steal a propaganda banner.

Tillerson announced that the Department of State had secured Warmbier's release at the direction of the Republican president. He said Warmbier, of Wyoming, in suburban Cincinnati, was en route to the U.S.

 Warmbier's parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, said he was in a coma and was flying home. They said they were told he has been in a coma since his trial, when he was last seen in public, and they had learned of this only one week ago.

"We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime" in North Korea, Warmbier's parents said. "We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him."

In Wyoming, resident Amy Mayer said news of his release had sent waves of shock and joy through the neighborhood.

A White House official said Trump had instructed Tillerson to take all appropriate measures to secure the release of Americans held in North Korea. The official referred to them as "hostages."

The U.S. government accuses North Korea of using such detainees as political pawns. North Korea accuses Washington and South Korea of sending spies to overthrow its government.

It's unclear if Warmbier's release during Rodman's visit was purely coincidental. Rodman has traveled to the isolated nation four times since 2013, attracting a lot of publicity, much of it unfavorable. In 2014, Rodman arranged a basketball game with other former NBA players and North Koreans and regaled leader Kim with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Rodman's current trip is his first since Trump, his former "Celebrity Apprentice" boss, became president. He told reporters in Beijing, as he departed for Pyongyang, that he hopes his trip will "open a door" for Trump.

North Korea poses one of the greatest national security challenges for Trump as it tries to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike America. He is looking to increase economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea, with help from China but has said he's open to meeting Kim.

In the past, North Korea has held out until senior U.S. officials or statesmen came to personally bail out detainees. A 2009 visit by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, secured the freedom of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Tillerson said the Department of State was continuing "to have discussions" with North Korea about the release of other three American citizens imprisoned there. They are:

— Kim Hak Song, who was detained in early May to be investigated for committing unspecified hostile acts, North Korea has said. He worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

— Tony Kim, who also goes by his Korean name Kim Sang-duk, was detained April 22 at the Pyongyang airport. He had also taught at the university. He was accused of committing unspecified criminal acts intended to overthrow the government.

— South Korean-born U.S. citizen Kim Dong Chul, who was sentenced in April 2016 to 10 years in prison with hard labor after being convicted of espionage.

___

 AP reporters Josh Lederman and Ken Thomas in Washington, Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, North Korea, Daniel Sewell in Cincinnati and video journalist Sara Gillesby in New York contributed to this report.
After over a year in North Korean prison, the government releases the one-year comatose Otto Warmbier after negotiations from the United States Department of State.