Fred and Cindy Warmbier attend President Trump’s State of the Union address, in which he cited the death of their son, Otto Warmbier, after his arrest in North Korea. Yet after the collapse of nuclear negotiations with North Korea in Hanoi last week, Trump is facing an unforeseen backlash as the public’s emotion has boomeranged back on him. Victor Cha, who served as a high-ranking Asia policy official in the George W. Bush administration, said Bush also demonized North Korea on human rights and, like Trump, met with defectors. Trump cited Warmbier’s death in speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, the South Korean National Assembly and his 2018 State of the Union. In December, the family won a $500 million legal judgment in federal court against North Korea for Otto’s torture and killing.

Source: Washington Post March 02, 2019 21:56 UTC