North Korea News: John Bolton Slams Kim Jong Un, Posts Picture With Parents Of Otto Warmbier

Former national security adviser John Bolton tweeted a picture of himself with the parents of Otto Warmbier on Wednesday and slammed the “brutality” of Kim Jong Un’s government. Warmbier, a college student and Cincinnati native, was detained by North Korea from January 2016 to June 2017, and died shortly after his return to the United States.

“Great meeting today with Cindy and Fred Warmbier,” Bolton tweeted. “Sadly, they know better than anyone of the brutality and dishonesty of the Kim Jung Un regime.”

Bolton, who stepped down as National Security Adviser on Sept. 10, has frequently criticized President Trump on his North Korea policy and said he is not doing enough to confront Pyongyang. He has also said that North Korea would likely never give up its nuclear arsenal, which the Trump administration has pushed for as part of a nuclear deal.

The death of Warmbier prompted additional scrutiny about North Korea's poor record on human rights. Warmbier had gone to North Korea as a tourist in December 2015, and was detained by authorities due to allegations that he stole a propaganda poster in his hotel. When he returned to the U.S. 17 months later, his head was shaved, with his parents saying he was tortured by Pyongyang, leaving him blind and deaf.

"How can you get what a terrorist country does?" Fred Warmbier, Otto’s father said, referring to North Korea. "They are terrorists. This is what they do."

The Warmbiers rebuked Trump in March after he claimed that Kim did not know about Otto Warmbier’s condition while in North Korean detention. Trump has also denied reporting that claims his administration paid a $2 million bill from North Korea which covered his medical care.

Bolton, meanwhile, has become a potentially key figure in the Trump impeachment trial.

"I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify," Bolton wrote in a statement on Jan. 6.