Bereaved Family of West Sea Killed Official Meets Warmbier Parents... "Joint Response to North Korean Human Rights Violations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The family of the late Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea, met with the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained and died in North Korea, on the 17th (local time) in the United States.

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, posted a photo on his SNS account of visiting the Warmbier parents' home in Cincinnati, Ohio, together with Lee Dae-jun’s older brother, Lee Rae-jin, and said, "We decided to join forces to help victims of North Korean human rights abuses."

Mr. Lee and Representative Ha visited Otto Warmbier’s grave to mourn his death, then moved to the Warmbier parents’ residence to have a conversation. Representative Ha said, "Cindy Warmbier, Otto’s mother, proposed that we remember her son and Lee Dae-jun together, emphasizing the significance of sharing the same goal."

He added that they agreed with the Warmbier parents to hold North Korea accountable for human rights violations through judicial procedures. To this end, they plan to conduct a joint investigation to identify North Korean assets worldwide and pursue the seizure of North Korean assets together with victims of North Korean human rights abuses. Representative Ha also mentioned that they plan to hold an international conference attended by the Warmbier parents to address these issues.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in North Korea in January 2016 on charges of attempting to steal propaganda materials during his trip and was sentenced to 15 years of labor reform, being detained for 17 months. He was released in June 2017 in an unconscious state but passed away six days after returning home.

On the previous day, Mr. Lee held a press conference in front of the North Korean Mission to the United Nations in New York with People Power Party lawmakers Ha Tae-kyung, Hong Seok-joon, Hwang Bo-seung-hee, Ji Seong-ho, and Park Sun-young, chairperson of the nonprofit organization Mulmangcho, requesting North Korea to dispatch a condolence delegation, conduct a fact-finding investigation, and allow the bereaved family to visit the site.

They attempted to deliver a letter addressed to Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, directly to the North Korean Mission, but the mission refused, so they placed the letter in the mailbox.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.