A U.S. court on Monday ordered the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to pay 501 million U.S. dollars in damages for the death of student Otto Warmbier, saying he was tortured during his 17-month captivity.
Warmbier's parents sued Pyongyang in April after the 22-year-old died last year within days of being flown back to the United States in a coma.
The DPRK is however unlikely to willingly pay the penalties, which come in the midst of a diplomatic drive by President Donald Trump, who is eager to reach a potentially landmark deal with leader Kim Jong Un.
The DPRK "is liable for the torture, hostage-taking, and extrajudicial killing of Otto Warmbier, and the injuries to his mother and father, Fred and Cindy Warmbier," Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Washington, DC, said in her ruling on Monday.
Otto Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier attend the State of the Union address in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. /VCG Photo
She said Pyongyang did not submit any response to the lawsuit, which the family filed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a U.S. law that allows lawsuits against foreign governments over offenses not considered to be covered by diplomatic immunity.
The DPRK is believed to have few assets in the United States that could be seized to meet the judgment, but it is seeking to end economic sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
An accord with Trump raises the possibility of future US assistance, which could become entangled by the court-ordered damages.
A medical transport plane carrying Otto Warmbier before he was transferred to an awaiting ambulance is seen at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 13, 2017. /VCG Photo
A student at the University of Virginia, Warmbier was imprisoned in the DPRK in January 2016 after visiting as a tourist, charged with crimes against the state for allegedly taking down a poster in support of Kim.
When he returned home after 17 months, Warmbier had gone blind and deaf, was attached to a feeding tube and was howling incomprehensible noises, Monday's ruling said.
An Ohio coroner said the student's death, just days later, was due to lack of oxygen and blood to the brain.
The DPRK has dismissed torture claims, saying Warmbier contracted botulism, a nerve disorder caused by toxin poisoning, while in detention.
The U.S. judge however quoted medical tests that found no evidence of botulism.
(Top picture: Otto Warmbier is taken to the top court in Pyongyang, DPRK, March 16, 2016. /Kyodo Photo via VCG)