Latest / Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast / Otto Warmbier - Prisoner of North Korea

Transcript

Otto Warmbier - Prisoner of North Korea · Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Otto was a bright and ambitious young man from Cincinnati, Ohio,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: and was known for his academic excellence and adventurous spirit.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: In December of twenty fifteen, he joined a tour led
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: trip to North Korea, and it would end in absolute
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: tragedy as he was quickly jailed and became a pawn
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: in a war between North Korea and the United States
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: of America. The results would leave the world with unanswered
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: questions and Otto's family grieving over the loss of their son.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: This is the story of Auto Warmber.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: My name's Ben and I'm Nicole and you're listening to
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Wicked and Grim, a true crime podcast.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: The following podcast and material intended for your audience listeners.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: We've got some stuff to talk about real quick before
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the episode today. Cheers, cheers. So you go ahead and
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: drop the bomb. Tell them I'm dropping the ball. You
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: got to take a sip first. Go ahead, take your sip.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: I'm giving you some talking times to take your sip. Okay,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: go ahead, drop the bomb. I'm gonna take a sip.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Okay. So this is a okay, patrons know about this. Okay,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: it stops well, Jesus, it's a big deal.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: That is like loud in the headphones.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: We are starting to transition to doing two episodes a
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: freaking week.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: We are, So we're looking at two days as our
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: regular show is, and also coming in with episodes on.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Friday, so to kind of as a smooth, you know, transition,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: We're just going to be doing every second Friday for
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: a little bit.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: So like this week, you'll have an episode on Tuesday
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: and Friday. Next week you'll just have an episode on Tuesday.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: And then the following week Tuesday, Friday and the following Tuesday,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: so you will have another Wicketed and Grim episode come
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: out this Friday.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Holy shit, we need to post about this. Oh we've
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: got big day.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: We will, So make sure you market on your calendar,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: makesure you get ready on Friday morning. We even did
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: like a poll a few months ago in Patreon, like
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: which which day would you like it to come out on? Yeah,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: most people wanted it Friday because it's like a good
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: way to wrap up the week.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: And yeah, and I think they also said a lot
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: of podcasts don't release on Friday, so.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of the ones they listen to, So
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure there's lots out there that do. Yeah,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: but the majority of them, those those ones they were
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: checking out, they don't release on Friday, so it's a
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: good spot to fill. So you will have another episode
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: this Friday from us.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: That's a big deal.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: And this is leading up to our two hundredth episode
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: or We've got some more stuff planned, but we'll touch
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: on that with you guys later as the date comes.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're fast approaching that.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So thank you to everyone who's been supporting us
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: as far. Thank you to our patrons who have been
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: been there along the way and giving us their insight
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: and when they think we should post and all that
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: sort of stuff. And speaking of thank you to Patreon.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: We have noticed how I didn't do a terrible transition
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: this time, like I said I was last week.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: I was waiting for it, though now I'm like disappointed.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: I'm going to catch everyone. I'm going to catch everyone
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: off guard, is what I'm going to do when I
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: do the terrible one. But for now, I do want
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: to thank our patrons who signed up this week. So
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: we have James Kerr, Stephanie Lombardi, Holly Raquel Rock and
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: McKenna Costello. Because McKenna put two exclamation marks at the
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: end of the time.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Oh okay, I was like, wow, yeah.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: So thank you so much for signing up over in
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Patreon to get the exclusive content. They get to do
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: things like, hey, you know, know about the extra episodes
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: ahead of time and have input on how it's going
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: to work.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: How many people are now going to put Excellation marks
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: after their names?
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Oh? No, kidding.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Like that.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but yeah, so big news. But I do think
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: we need to get into this episode because enough chitch
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: you had at the beginning. Yeah, we can save that
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: for the end of the show. Let's do Are you
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: ready for this?
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: I am. I'm very interested in this case.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: So I remember when this case actually first was happening.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: When this I don't want to give anything away by
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: talking about it, but I do remember when it was happening,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: and I remember having a very different opinion about it
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: then than I do now since I researched this case.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Oh really, yes, because I thought one thing, and I
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: thought exactly what I was supposed to think, and now
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I realize there's a lot more to it than just
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: what's on the surface.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Really okay, well you know what, I think that happens
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: more times than not. Yes, we're sort of made to
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: think away well, especially.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: When you're dealing with a country like North Korea, who
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: is very secretive. The regime holds a very tight grip
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: on their people. There is very little contact with the
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: outside world. There is falsified information, there is propaganda all
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: over the place. There's even like in the country, there
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: is I don't know the exact number. I didn't do
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: research on North Korea itself on these things, but it's
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: just previous knowledge. But there are a certain number of
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: haircuts that you can get. Oh so it's like females
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: you get like you can go to a barber or
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: shop or hairstyle salon, you get haircut one through twelve.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: That's it. Men one through twelve, that's it. You cannot
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: have your hair any other different way.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Things like that interesting, right, But then in someone I
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: feel like we have almost too many decisions to make
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: that sometimes it's like, wow, you know, you just get
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: to pick or like I always thought that when went
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: to school and had to wear uniforms. Yeah, but they're like, oh,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: they just know what they have to wear every day. Yeah,
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: But I mean I think it would get pretty boring
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: pretty quick.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Freedom of choice is certainly a big part right. It
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: creates independence, autonomy, and I mean that's what a lot
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: of people are fighting for nowadays, in their rights to
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: be their own person. And in North Korea, you certainly
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: do not have your right to be your own person.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: The laws are extremely heavy. And yeah, so that's a
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: little spiel on North Korea. And this is where Otto
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: was going to be traveling to. But first let's get
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: into who Auto was. Okay, so outo. Frederick Warmbier was
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: born on December twelfth, nineteen ninety four, and he grew
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: up in a close knit family in the suburbs of Cincinnati.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Who was the oldest of three children and was known
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: for his bibrant personality and is his zest for life.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: You know. His parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, instilled in
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: him a love for learning in a strong sense of community.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: He attended Wyoming High School, where he excelled both academically
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: and athletically. He was a standout student, graduating as a
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: salutorian of his class, which is like the second top
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: you have your valedictorian and new stalutorian.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: His peers and teachers both like admired him for his intelligence,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: and leadership qualities, and most importantly of all, his kindness.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Nice.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: He was a good hearted kid right, just all around.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So even beyond academics, where Auto was involved in various
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: extracurricular activities, including school soccer teams and national Honor Society,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: he did continue to stand out beyond that. After high school,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Auto enrolled in the University of Virginia, also known as UVA,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: where he pursued a double major in commerce and economics.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: At UVA, he continued to distinguish himself as a top student,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: earning a place in the prestigious Ecoles scholars Program program.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Sorry, that's impressive.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: He was an impressive individual. And it's almost like, you know,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: a bit of salt in the womb because like, on
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: top of it all, he's like a super good person,
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: super likable.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: It's like like, what the hell, yeah, one or the other, right.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: He's got it all sort of thing. You know, he's
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: super likable, he's super athletic, he's super smart, he's super charismatic,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: super out glowing. It's like, goddamn, dude.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: Super yeah. And honestly, economics I've had I had to
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: take a couple of those courses with my degree and
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: they're not easy.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: No, no, I mean I can only imagine. It's definitely
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: not my forte so I would stay far away from it.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: But good on him for going through.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: Very good.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, Auto's time at UVA showed to many of
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: his peers his eagerness to explore the world, a world
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: beyond the classroom particularly, and you know, his adventurous spirit
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: that he actually had. He was always eager to learn
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: and grow, but he was also wanting to learn about
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: different cultures and global perspectives. In late twenty fifteen, Auto
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: learned about Young Pioneers Tours, a China based travel agency
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: that offered budget trips to North Korea, which is otherwise
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: a very restricted country. Like you can't just like I'm
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: going to book a flight to North Korea. This travel
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: company clearly has a relationship with North Korea where they
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: have an established trip, an established tour route where specific hotels,
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: specific events, all this sort of stuff is laid out
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: because you cannot just be like I'm going to North Korea.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: So there's clearly something pre established and pre laid out here.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: Now this travel agency, Young Pioneers Tours, Their motto was
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: quote budget Tours Destinations your mother would rather you stayed
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: away from.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Oh I do not love that.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: No kidding, that is quite the marketing ploy.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think that's a great one.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: No, I mean, I mean it both is and isn't,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: because it certainly attracts your certain the demographic you're after,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: right because it says that right there, your mother. So
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: it's telling you right now they're looking at young kids, yes,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: And I mean, of course the tour name is Young
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Pioneers Tour, so they are targeting those young kids who
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: are going out in their own almost rebellious type, you know,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: wanting to finally get free of the bonds of childhood
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: and do their own thing, make their own decisions. So
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: I though, look at it now and say, hey, that's
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: a terrible freaking marketing thing. I think it's phenomenal on
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: their part for the demographic they're targeting.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: It is, yes, But I think me personally, like, even
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: if I was young again just dated me real bad,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure that would have worked on me either,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: because I'd be like, oh.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: God, but we're probably not their demographic. We're not the
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: ones who at that age have been rebellious wanting to
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: and you know, so so I think for the demographic thereafter,
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: I think that would have captured attention. And I mean
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: that honestly really spells out what you can expect from
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: them from this trip and what's to follow. Now. As
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I mentioned, North Korea has a reputation as one that
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: is very isolated, strict enigmatic, right, and it presented a
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: very compelling opportunity for AUTO who wanted to really experience
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: different places of the world and like you said, different
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: perspectives of culture. The agency marked it marketed its tours
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: as safe and adventurous, appealing to its young travelers. So Auto,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: after reading it, going through all the brochures and looking
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: it up and figuring out everything is going to happen,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: he decided to join the five day New York Tour
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: to North Korea. Sorry New Year's Tour not New York Tour.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: New Year's time.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: I was like, oh, they're starting in New York.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: No, no, my apologies, New Year's Tour. So in December
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: twenty ninth, because New Year's twenty fifteen, Auto departed for
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: North Korea with a group of approximately ten other tourists.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: The itinerary included visits to prominent sites in Pyongyang, such
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: as Kim Il Sung Square and the Korean War Museum,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: as well as participation in New Year's celebrations. The tour
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: group stayed at Jangato International Hotel, which is a very
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: well known accommodation for foreign visitors in the location. And
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure this hotel is like designated specifically for tourists.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: Makes sense.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: There have been a few YouTube videos that I watched
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: where people do get specific tours through North Korea, and
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: everything seems staged, everything from banquets to the hotels, to
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the tour guides they go in, to places they visit,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: to the shows. Everything is staged specifically for the tourists
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: to have a certain perspective on North Korea. And so
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: this hotel, I'm pretty sure it would be staged just
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: the same.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Now, Otto was having the time of his life on
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: this trip, taking in the culture, or what he thought
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: was the culture of course, enjoying the travels and making
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: new friends in his journey. However, the once in a
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: lifetime trip would soon turn into a traveler's worst nightmare.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: On January second, twenty sixteen, at Pyongyang soon In International Airport,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: he was just about to board his flight back to
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: China with a tour group when all of a sudden,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Auto received a tap on his shoulder and two uniformed
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: North Korean officers led Auto away from the group. One
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: of the other travelers in the group made light of
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: the situation and made a joke, saying, and that's the
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: last time we ever see him, oh shit, to which
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Auto turned back, laughed and walked away with the officials.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: It was a joke, But little did they know it
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: wouldn't be funny for much longer.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Oh boy, he was that close to leaving too. Hey,
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: he was just about to.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: Board his flight and they took him away right before
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: before boarding. Now, according to North Korean authorities, on the
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: night of January first, twenty sixteen, at Jungato International Hotel
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: in Pyongyang, Auto attempted to steal a propaganda poster from
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: a restricted area within the hotel. Now, this restricted area
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: is reportedly designated for staff only and not accessible to guests.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: As I kind of already mentioned, the hotel is probably
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: very much so staged, and this area restricted area would
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: be staged a lot differently because it's a very propaganda
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: heavy place, very strict regime place. So for the workers
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: it's going to be laid out for them.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Oh he was sposed to be in there.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Definitely not. Now, this area is known as the fifth floor.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: It is inaccessible to civilians in the hotel, with the
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: floor number not even appearing on elevators. You do not
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: even see floor number five on the elevator in this place. Still,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: some have managed to make their way onto the floor
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: despite the restrictions, and if you do some diving, you
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: can even find footage of people going through this fifth floor.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: There's video of it, and it is littered with war
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: propaganda posters like what you would see like World War
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: two era stuff, like posters of like machine guns and tanks,
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: like crazy shit just lining these fucking halls.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Really why, Like, because.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: It's a very war regime and driven country. That's what
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: North Korea is about. Oh okay, Now, like I said,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: some footage does exist and it shows all this. And
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: the floor is also believed to be the house facility
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, the house facilities that show surveillance that is
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: monitoring the remainder of the floor. I couldn't find footage
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: that shows this surveillance rooms. But it is believed that
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Sensus is a very staged facility, it would make sense
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: that there is surveillance as well.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Like in the people's rooms and shits.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Most likely.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, that is the belief.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: That is the belief. Now it is on this floor
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: where security camera allegedly caught someone taking a poster off
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: the wall of the hotel. The poster was considered a
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: symbol of the country's ideology principles, and the act of
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: stealing or damaging such material is viewed as a serious
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: offense in North Korea, which is often viewed as a
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: direct act against the state, which just shows how heavy
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: this country.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Is, because, like I mean, taking down a poster doesn't
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: seem like it should be a crime.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Right, We'll put it this way. In the United States,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of people who love Donald Trump and
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: hate Donald Trump. Right, So say there's a Donald Trump
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: poster you see, and you're a person who hates them.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: You take that poster down, and now you're getting arrested
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: simply for removing the poster and showing an act against him. Right,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: That's what kind of country we're dealing with. Okay, that's
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: what kind of laws we have implemented here. Now, the
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: person that was removing it, North Korea claims was Auto. However,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: the authenticity, ticity sorry, and the context of this footage
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: have been subject to debate and skepticism to this day,
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: which we will touch on here.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Now holy shit, like it's maybe not certain that it
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: was actually him.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: We'll touch on it.
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: So.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: On the following day, on January second, twenty sixteen, when
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: officials took him away, Auto was of course being arrested,
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: and following his arrest, Auto was taken to an undisclosed location.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: North Korean authorities did not provide immediate information about his
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: whereabouts or conditions or conditions sorry, heightening concerns among both
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: his friends and the US government alike because now they
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: had a US civilian in custody. So on February twenty ninth,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, nearly two months after his arrest, Otto Warmbeer
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: appeared in a televised press conference in Pyongyang. During his
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: emotional appearance, he tearfully confessed to attempting to steal the
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: poster and heavily uponologized for his actions. He stated that
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: he had been influenced by an American church, the Friendship
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: United Methodologist Church in Wyoming, Ohio, and was offered financial
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: incentives to commit the act by a secretive society within
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: the church and a member of the z Society of
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: the University of Virginia. The press conference raised significant concerns
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: about the authenticity about his confession.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that just seems like a lot.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: He was an extreme emotional distress and a very distraught state,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: and the formal and stilted language he used did not
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: seem like spontaneous speech that someone would be throwing off
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: the cuff, right, or even spontaneous speech to someone really
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: write down just didn't seem natural, especially for someone like him,
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: who is well educated, who probably did many speeches during
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: his time in university. It led many to believe that
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: his confession was very coor Observers and human rights organizations
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: all pointed out that North Korea even had a documented
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: history of coursing confessions from detainees through intimidation, threats, and
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: physical abuse. It is firmly believed by most that Otto's
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: confession was made under duress and did not reflect his
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: true intentions or actions. So what many believe is that
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: what he is saying occurred. These people told me to
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: do this, They'll give me a financial reward, was all
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: basically made up by North Korea was an agenda that
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: they are trying to put on North Americans coming into Korea,
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: North Korea and then from there. This is when the
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: footage was released, some two months after he was already arrested. Yeah,
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: so what many believe is that this footage was staged.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: They arrested him, made him go through the actions of this,
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: recorded it, and then claimed this is what they caught
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: him doing. This is what a lot of people believe occurred.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Holy shit, Hey, that's like.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: Their frame at all. They're framing him is basically what
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: why The consensus of this is We'll get into it
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: a bit.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I just have so many questions and we'll get
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: into it. We'll get into it.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: But regardless of what US civilians and the rest of
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: the world thought, to North Korea and their civilians, they
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: did an enemy at the state in custody, right and
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: they had a full confession for it as well.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Holy crap.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: So Auto Warmbrier's trial took place on March sixteenth, twenty sixteen,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: in Pyongyang, North Korea, just over two months after his
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: arrest in the international airport, where he was first know
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: tapped on the shoulder However, the fairness and legitimacy of
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: this trial have been subjects to intense scrutiny and skepticism
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: over the years. Auto was charged with committing a quote
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: hostile act against the North Korean state for the alleged
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: theft the poster in the restricted area of the hotel.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: The trial proceedings were notably swift and very one sided.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: It lasted approximately only one hour, and during the trial,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: North Korea authorities presented the surveillance footage for the first time,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: as I had already mentioned, and throughout it all, Auto
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: was not provided with any adequate legal representation or even
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: access to an independent council. He was simply put at
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: a one sided trial. Therefore show essentially he was going
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: into trial and they knew he was going to be
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: guilty before the trial.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Evens oh yeah, yeah.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: And so as a result, Auto Warmber didn't stand a
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: chance in court and was sentenced to fifteen years of
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: hard labor.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: Oly shit, fifteen years.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Fifteen years.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: We've covered cases someone murders someone. They don't even get.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: That much, I know, right, good god, So this is
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: what sort of stuff is going on in this country.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: And I do want to say, right, now, a lot
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: of the stuff, a lot of perspectives we in North
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: America have of North Korea are third party perspectives. It's
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: what we're being told by our government. So if you
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: look at the civilians in North Korea, their perspective of
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: us is what they're being told by their government.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: So, as much as I want to say we're right,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: which I'm sure we kind of are, because there's evidence
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: to back up a lot of our stuff, I mean
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: they're faking their evidence, which they're showing their civilians. You
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: never know. Right now, I do believe Auto Warmbier is
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: definitely being held wrongly here, But I just do want
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: to put it in perspective. Facts are probably being hidden
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: both ways, is all I'm really trying to say.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Okay, Well, I'm blind to all of both sides. I
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: don't have I have little knowledge about North Korea to
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: be honest.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Well, all I'm saying is okay, like North Korea is
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: a very hard regime. Like there's fifteen haircuts. I said
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: that there's yeah, twelve or fifteen haircuts. Yeah, I could
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: be wrong. I'm taking information off the end, you know,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: I'm taking a perspective that other civilians in my country
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: and other political figures in my country are painting that
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: country to be So I'm just saying, hey, there could
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: be a weighted perspective here potentially. But yeah, as I
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: did mention, I do firmly believe in the situation with Otto,
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: North Korea is up to some shit.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah it seems so.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So he was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: The trial and sentence sparked absolute outrage internationally. The US government,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: human rights organizations, and Otto's family all declared the trial
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: to be a sham and called for immediate release of him,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: but the cries fell on absolute deaf ears. For over
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: a year, Otto remained in detention with little information known
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: about his condition. There was just nothing. They were releasing
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: nothing about Otto. His family could only sit and hope
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: for the best, as he was just incarcerated in a
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: mysterious country with zero contact. It was not until June
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: twenty seventeen that was released he had actually been in
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: a coma for most of his imprisonment. This news came
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: as a result of the negotiation efforts made by the
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: government to secure his release back to the United States.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: So basically, they're trying to get him released back to
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: the States, and finally they're like, oh yeah, by the way,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: for last years since he's been actually like his trial,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: he's been in a coma, Like what the fuck?
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Oh no, shit, Yeah, that is some fucked up shit. Yeah,
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: it's also terrifying as shit too.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Oh is it ever? No kidding, like, because this can happen,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: I mean theoretically in any country.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: Well yeah, if your.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Government is dark enough, is poisoned enough, you never know
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: what they could do.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Like, I love traveling and stuff, but I feel like
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: I haven't. We haven't gone to like many foreign countries
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: from like North America, just because it's like, you don't,
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: like you might not be intending to offend or anything,
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: but like the cultures are different and stuff, Like it's
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: just I don't know, sometimes languages are different than stuff.
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: It just seems a little bit yeah, like scary, I guess.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I feel you definitely.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, not to say that like all countries have issues
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: or anything, just well to clarify, but.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: I can recall a time when we are in Mexico.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: We're just chilling in an all inclusive resort, and there
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: was a server who brought us some drinks and she
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: was super nice and super kind and I was trying
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: to be nice and mind you, I don't know Spanish
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: for shit. I learned like ten words before I went.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: And I was probably ten drinks deep by like nine
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: o'clock in the morning.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, not quite okay.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: Eleven o'clock, don't. I had a lot of booze in me.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I know that. And I said she was me and Ego,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: which is my friend, right, yeah, but Amigo is a
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: male friend, and she's like Amigo, and I'm like, Amga.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: I mean, I couldn't remember how like I think Amiga?
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: Yes, is you insulted her?
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: And yes? She was like what the fuck? And I'm like,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just you know, I was
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: just ignorant to the situation, right, and you never know
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: what I mean, that could be a serious situation, right
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: if I if I call someone in North Korea the
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: wrong gender by accident. Yeah, yeah, so it was a
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: simple like I fucked up. I knew, Like, I don't
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: remember that at all. I do because it like it
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: scarred me because I felt so bad. Yeah yeah, but anyways.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Fucked up in Jamaica too, But we'll tell that story.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: That's another story.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: That's a whole other don't travel with Ben I'm.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: A shit show, clearly. But anyways, uh so, Auto was
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: in a coma for the last year and North Korean
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: officials claimed that he had fell into a coma either
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: due to bochelism poisoning or sleeping pills that were administered
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: to them. Now they're thinking that with these sleeping pills
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: he put had like a side effect to him or
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: some sort of reaction, but they're not sure. These are
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: their two best guesses at why he's in a coma.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: And this is sorry people from North Korea.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, North Korean officials are saying, yeah, bachulism poisoning or
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: sleeping pill reactions. Okay. Now, his parents, Fred and Cindy
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: were informed about their son's condition as efforts were being
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: made to bring them home, and the US government had
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: actually coordinated a specific flight to finally bring him home.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: So this flight was going to Peonyang, North Korea, with
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: medical professionals on board to evacuate Auto in order to
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: bring them back to the States safely, and so on
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: June thirteenth, twenty seventeen, Auto Warmbier was transported from North
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Korea back to United States. A team of doctors and
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: medical professionals accompanied him on the aircraft, monitored his condition
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: the entire way, and provided necessary care during his journey.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: Upon their arrival to pick him up, something wasn't quite
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: right with Auto. Otto was said to have been in
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: a coma for the past year. However, when medical professionals
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: met with him and examined him, they determined that he
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: was awake and responsive, not completely, but he was verbal.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: His eyes were open, and he seemed to respond to
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: speech and touch. So he was transferred from the hospital
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: where he's being held in Pyongyang and then straight to
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: the airport. He was mildly sedated for the flight to
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: ensure you remain stable for the journey and such. The
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: travel home and the flight lasted several hours before it
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: finally arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio. When it arrived in Cincinnati,
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Auto's family was there to greet him and he was
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: immediately transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Now
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: back in the USA, medical teams were able to perform
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: a proper and thorough examination and assessment of his condition,
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: and it brought up a lot of questions, primarily because
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: the coma thing, right, And he's literally not in a coma,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: but arguably, I mean there is the glos coma scale,
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: which I'm not going to get into details of, so
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: he could partially be arguably in a coma. But anyways,
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: that's a side note. Medical people will know what I'm
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: talking about. Doctors found out that Auto had suffered extensive
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: brain damage while he was over there. They described his
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: condition as unresponsive wakefulness, also known as a persistent vegeative state.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: He was essentially a vegetable.
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: Man.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: He showed no signs of understanding, language, awareness of his surroundings,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: or voluntary movements. So essentially, if you like, where to
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: pinch him, he'd like pull back, react react yes, And
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: if you like, if he's looking one way and you
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: make a noise or talk to him, he might turn
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: and kind of look at you a little bit. But
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: he had no signs of understanding or anything.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Oh that is just devastating, is it ever? Holy shit?
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: The medical team concluded that he had suffered a severe
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: neurological injury, likely due to a lack of oxygen to
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: the brain.
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: Now. His parents were both relieved to have their son
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: back home, and they publicly thanked everyone involved for making
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: it happen, but they also made a public statement of
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Otto's condition, sharing with the world the state that their
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: son was in. They believed that he had been subject
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: to severe mistreatment while in the custody of North Korea.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, that is just so much emotion right there.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: It's so fucking heartbreaking, especially because this all occurred to
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: over the course of a year without you even knowing,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: and you're like, oh, by the way, you're getting him
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: back as a vegetable. What the fuck.
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you're fighting for him, right and everything, and
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: you're oh, my gosh, and then he comes back and
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: you're so unaware of his state, like.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: Well, and he comes back and he's not even him anymore.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, man, I just can't even imagine. Wow. Good, yeah, well,
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: I guess. Yeah.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: So, despite receiving intensive medical care in Cincinnati, Auto showed
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: an oh signs of improvement. He passed away on June nineteenth,
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, just six days after returning to the United States.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: His death was met with an outpouring of sympathy and
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: condolences from across the country and the world. While the
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: country was grieving, it is almost certain that in North
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Korea there was a very stark difference. The fact that
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: he passed away only six days after being in the
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: care of the USA would certainly be a tool used
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: in the propaganda for their country. We held him in
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: a coma state for over a year, and we took
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: care of them. The States takes them. He's dead in
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: a week.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, I don't even know how to react
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: to that. That is so.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: Fucked Yeah, and there's a good chance that that was
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: their plan. Why they released them too, huh okay. So.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: The US government, of course condemned North Korea's treatment of
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Auto and held the regime responsible to his death. Residing
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump at the time issued a statement expressing
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: the sorrow for the warm Beer's family and denouncing the
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: brutality of the North Korean regime. In twenty eighteen, Otto's
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the North Korean government,
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: and a US federal court ruled in their favor, awarding
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: them five hundred and one million dollars in damages. However,
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: collecting these damages from North Korea is very highly unlikely,
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: ruling that it was more symbolic a symbol of justice
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: and accountability than really anything in Auto's death. Right, So
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: it was more saying, yes, North Korea is responsible, but
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: are they going to do anything? I doubt it?
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well because they are not going to admit that
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: they were wrong, right yep.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: And even if they were wrong, why the fuck are
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: they going to pay it?
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: So, being that it was found that North Korea was
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: responsible for his death and that he had suffered brain
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: damage due to a lack of oxygen, the question remains
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: what exactly happened to him? What does that mean? Well,
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: in all honesty, that is completely up for debate. Some
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: medical experts do contest that his condition could be a
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: result of the alleged bochulism poisoning, which is highly unlikely
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: but more probable I guess, than the botulism the reaction
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: to the sleeping pills that he was administered while in custody.
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: What the hell is that? Again?
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: Botulism poisoning, It's like a poisoning that occurs with like
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: like canning and stuff like. Oh okay, yeah, so they
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: said that there was like a pork that they had
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: feed fed him while like being held, and yet there
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: was botulism apparently, so it's like damage can or whatever
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: that was opened in like some shit got yeah, okay, Now,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: the chances on both of these are really slim, the
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: botulism particularly slim, but most medical experts do point to
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: something else being the cause. If it is indeed something else,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: though what Doctors noted that his injuries were more consistent
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: with cardiac arrest, where the brain is deprived of oxygen.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: Otto's parents, however, along with many others around the world,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: believe he was subject to severe mistreatment while in their care,
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: as I already mentioned, and I have used that term mistreatment.
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: So what could this mean a lot of things? Really,
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: But there is speculation that Auto could have been subject
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: to things such as torture while in North Korea. However,
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: upon examination, doctors noted that Auto did not show signs
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: of physical abuse, such as fractures or bruises, which might
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: have it one might expect in a torture victim, someone
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: who's being physically abused, But this doesn't rule out other
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: forms of torture or mistreatment, such as deprivation, stress, things
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: that could actually contribute to a neurological state that he had.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: There is also the possibility that Otto has been tortured
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: and allowed time to heal before being returned to the
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: United States. Being returned home, bruises, for example, would not
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: show scarring might some broken bones may show, Yes, you're right,
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: but bruises some beatings may not. I mean, he had
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: been in a condition with them for over a year,
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: so who knows. But it was also noted that on
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: his foot Otto suddenly had a very large scar that
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: he did not have before he left, and there was
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: no explanation for what occurred. His front two bottom teeth
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: as well, that were previously straight, were now crooked and twisted,
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: almost if as if they had been forced or moved
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: out of place. But again, there were no signs of
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: trauma to go along with what had been seen. So
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: what could have happened to Otto while he was in
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: the hands of North Korea, With the country's dark history
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: and cutthroat regime, It's hard to say, but it could
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: be possible they attempted to use him as a political
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: bargaining chip if you ask Donald Trump, who was serving
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: as president at the time. No matter what happened, and
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: North Korea's leader had nothing to do with it. In
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: February of twenty nineteen, President Trump stated in a press
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: conference that he did not believe Kim jong un was
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: directly responsible for Auto's death. He said, and I quote he,
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: Kim Jong un tells me that he didn't know about it,
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: and I will take him at his word. I don't
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: believe he would have allowed that to happen. It just
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: wasn't to his advantage to allow that to happen. His
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: comments were met with a very widespread criticism. I mean,
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: how could he not know?
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean Donald Trump knows.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a globalized issue, right, especially in a
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: country that has aped where that leader has absolute and
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: I mean absolute control.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that doesn't make sense.
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: It doesn't make any sense. Otto's parents responded to Trump's remark, stating, quote,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: of our son Otto. No excuses or lavish praise can
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: change that.
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it's almost kind of like Donald Trump didn't
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: want to. I don't know what would be the word,
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: like burn the bridge or something with North Korea.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, Trump and Kim Jong un began to
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: develop a very close relationship, and that is when he
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: came out with this statement, saying that he believed he
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: did not have any knowledge of this. Oh he's ignorant.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: He didn't know this occurred. If he knew this was happening,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: he wouldn't have allowed it to happen. Guaranteed, if Kim
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: Jong un did not know this was occurring, and there
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: were some other officers or leaders under him that did
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: this without his knowledge, they would be very harshly punished.
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, but they weren't. Well that we know of, though,
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: that we know of.
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: But he would have made sure we knew about it,
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: because how dare they do this without my consent? I'm
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: going to make sure they're punished, and I'm going to
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: make sure the world knows. That's one hundred percent what
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: a leader like Kim Jong hood would have done in
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: a total regime that he has. But he didn't because
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: he knew about it. That is the story of Auto
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: warm beer.
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: I feel like I've just been like lighting my tongue
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: so intently a lot of this because like, I don't
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: want to talk about politics and shit, right, so it's
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: just really hard to know what the fuck is say.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I know, because I'm not a very big political individual,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: I am not the most knowledgeable, so it's not my
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: forte to speak on it really either. What I will
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: say though, the politics aside, is when I heard this happening,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: I remember the news articles coming out. I remember hearing
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: the day it was published about his arrest, and my
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: immediate reaction was that's what you get. And don't get
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: me wrong, I don't think anyone deserved it, but I
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: was like, that's what you get for stealing something in
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: North Korea. But I had no idea how much they
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: were using him as a puppet and potentially most likely
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: faking the fact that he actually stole it to begin.
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: With, so like it's not even certain that he was
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: on the fifth floor.
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: Really, yeah, they do have footage of an individual that
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: very much so seems like to be auto taking a
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: poster off the wall and walking away, but it's most
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: likely stage footage that they recorded after arresting him. Oh
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: they made him do it so they could record it
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: and use it as evidence.
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, Okay, I missed that. I miss that.
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness now, And don't get me wrong, I
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: want to say this again, it's not that that's what
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: you get for doing it. Was My reaction was like, well,
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: of course you steal something in North Korea. Of course
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: you're can fucking get arrested, right, Yeah.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: So, but did he and the way that you described
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: him as an individual, I don't, you know, it didn't
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: make sense that he would like would would do that,
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: would go to this fifth floor and do something like that, right,
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: Like he was probably on his best behavior there, agree,
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: So he just was literally curious and wanted to learn
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: about the culture and like different parts of the world.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he was just wanting to travel, you know, have
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: some experiences and have fun.
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: But damn, yeah, he was young. That's young.
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, I mean it's really unsure on why they
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: did this, other than to potentially use him as some
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: sort of bargaining chip, like hey, you know, we imprisoned
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: this guy and we let him go. You know, now
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: you kind of always a little favor of turning a
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: blind eye to something or like no sort.
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: Of thing, no, because like how look how he was returned.
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Hm, I got nothing for you on why or
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: what their thoughts were. But that's the situation. That's what occurred,
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: and it's horrible. Yeah, And my thoughts prior to this
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: being like, well, that's of course what's going to happen.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: When you steel like, okay, no, how fucking wrong was I?
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: Which is so terrible for him? Right, like this individual
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: you know that people you know, they have different thoughts
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: or whatever, right, and it's just unknown exactly what happened.
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: I know, Like that is sad, real sad.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: Yep. I'm gonna see if I can bring up footage
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: of the uh fifth floor. Yeah, here we go. So,
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you guys are listening audio wise, you're
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: not gonna be able to uh to see this, but
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: if you're checking it out on YouTube, I will. I'll
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: bring it up for you, guys. I'll show you, and
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: I will put a link down below so you guys
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: can check it out as well if you're interested in
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: actually going over and clicking out.
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: Well, how would like how would this be out there
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: without someone getting caught?
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure? Okay, interesting, okay, so great at the beginning,
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: so you can see like these very political type posters, hmm.
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: And those posters are fucking all.
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: Around, yeah, all over the wall.
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: You look a big bomb USA on it.
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: Oh shit, huh.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: There's another one that I saw with like someone with
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: like AK forty seven or something they're holding.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: So like I don't know, Donald Trump could potentially been
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: like intimidated by North Koreer potentially.
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: Really, I mean they do have nuclear weapons. Yeah, I
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: don't see Donald Trump being smart enough to be to
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: be intimidated by North Korea. I think that would be
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: a pissing contest. And I mean they got more, more
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: nukes and more a bigger army and all that sort
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: of stuff. So I don't see him being intimidated per se.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: But I mean there is a possibility.
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: Huh. That's interesting.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, that was a different case to cover. It's
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: one that's been on my radar for a while, and
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it just felt felt right to dive
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: into it. I think we've been going a lot on
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: like heavy murders recently, big big time shootings and stuff,
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: So I think a one like that was a change
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: of pace for sure.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, yes, but it's just as equally as disturbing. Really,
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: Oh it's.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: No, it's probably like it's another level of disturbing, different
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: type of disturbing.
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: Like it's tear. It's well, I mean, god, all of them,
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: all this shit's terrifying. Maybe she need to look into
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: another like good one, you know, is there another one
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: like the Maple Surpist.
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: We should find another one like that, because that was
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: just damn good. A lighthearted true crime case.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, hey, if you have one, let us know.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, shoot us a message or an email or something
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: like us tag us and something a more light hearted case.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: I think we could use a turn of events like that.
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: But yeah, because this one honestly has me on it
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: like kind of more terrified than some of the other
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: ones we've covered.
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: But I think the reason why it's more terrifying is
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: because it's different.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: I guess we how.
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: How many times have we we talked about excuse me,
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: someone someone getting kidnapped and murdered or out of the
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: blue or and it's like, we know that can happen.
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: This is like we when was the last time you
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: thought about this happening on a simple tour guide trip.
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it could potentially be more relatable in some ways,
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: just because it's like, you know, I enjoy traveling. Traveling
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: is sort of more of a you know, our normal
• 44:06
  Speaker 2: way of life to some right.
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: Our guards are already up when we're talking to strange
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: people on the streets in midnight who like, you know,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: or like that sort of situation. Our guards aren't necessarily
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: up and we're just going on a tour guide.
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: God, isn't that the case We've lived in Like we
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: have lived in not the best area before of our city,
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: and I just like remember at night time, like in
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: the dark, like having to like bring up grab something
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: from my car, I would run, like I've always just
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: been like scared shitless of just like everything. I feel like.
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: It wasn't even that bad of the area.
• 44:41
  Speaker 2: It was not the best area. It was our first
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: home that we purchased right so like rightfully, so it
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: was you know, it would be a lower budget.
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: And it was on the edge of a not so
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: nice part of town. But it wasn't a bad like
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: you get some some sketchy people walk can buy sometimes,
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: but those sketchy people were generally harmless.
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know, but just like live sketch in
• 45:06
  Speaker 2: a sketchy area at night and you were like working
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: remember by the gold Siders, like running.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: Well, that's that's when we got our first dog, Meekap.
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: We got her to be a bit of a guard
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: Doug be intimidating looking. She was a husky wolf cross. Yeah,
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: she definitely intimidated some people.
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: I know that she did. Yeah, she was like my
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: little angel in disguise, that's for sure.
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: She did her job, that's for sure.
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: So yeah, she was perfect.
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Anyways, thank you for being here. Don't forget that.
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: On Friday, we are coming out with another episode. Of course,
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: when we upload to YouTube, we are uploading a couple
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: days after the actual episode comes out, but you can't
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: expect more coming out on YouTube as well. You can
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: see the video, you know, a few days after. We
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: don't have a schedule for YouTube just yet, but that
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: is coming down the pipe to actually get a specific Hey,
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: you can expect the video on this day sort of situation,
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: but you can the episode on Friday.
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah. That's a freaking exciting shit right there. It is.
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: It's nerve wracking though too to do that much extra work.
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: But for now we're stoked. We're gonna make it happen.
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: So if you want to check out all the links,
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: shoot us a message on a lighthearted podcast episode idea.
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: Let us know. All links are down below, including Patreon.
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: We can sign up and we'll see you on Friday.
• 46:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, it's until then. Until then, stay wicked