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World|life|June 21, 2017 / 11:54 AM
Anger over Warmbier death grows amid calls for travel ban
Image: REUTERS

AKIPRESS.COM - Anger over Otto Warmbier's fate continued to build June 20, with U.S. lawmakers declaring his death a "murder" and calling for travel restrictions to North Korea while the Trump administration considered how to respond, CNN reported. 

The Warmbier family announced Tuesday that the 22-year-old will be laid to rest Thursday morning in Ohio, as Republican and Democratic lawmakers decried his treatment by Pyongyang and floated the idea of banning American travel to North Korea as a first step.

The calls for a response come as spy satellites detected new activity at North Korea's underground nuclear test site for the first time in several weeks, according to two US officials who spoke to CNN. They also said military options for North Korea have recently been updated and will be presented to President Donald Trump if there is a nuclear test.

However, on the eve of a high-level meeting with China, Pyongyang's largest trade partner and closest ally, the Trump administration has sounded a more cautious note, saying that they hold North Korea responsible for Warmbier's death but giving no indication of how they will respond.

Officials from Trump down have expressed sadness about the college student's fate, but say that for now, they haven't decided on a course of action.

"We hold North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbier's unjust imprisonment," State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said Tuesday. "We're still considering our options."

"We have a great deal of resolve to try to handle the situation and try to hold North Korea responsible for the death of Mr. Warmbier and bring back those three Americans who do remain there," Nauert added.

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