Otto Warmbier: US flies B1 bombers over Korean peninsula as tensions rise

The US has flown two nuclear bombers over the Korean peninsula hours after the death of American student Otto Warmbier.

This file photo taken on February 29, 2016 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 1, 2016 shows US student Otto Frederick Warmbier speaking at a press conference in Pyongyang.

The US has flown two nuclear bombers over the Korean peninsula only hours after the death of American student Otto Warmbier as pressure builds in Washington for a tougher response to his death.

Two B1 bombers engaged in drills with both the Japanese and South Korean air forces in what US officials said were exercises to show America’s commitment “to defend against provocative and destabilising actions in the Pacific theatre”.

South Korea’s defence ministry described the move as a ‘routine exercise’ but the timing of it left little doubt that it was a message to Pyongyang in the wake of the death of the 22-year-old Warmbier.

The US has previously flown similar missions in a show of strength in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile tests.

The American university student died in the US this week after being returned from North Korean in a coma last week after 17 months of captivity in the hermit kingdom.

Doctors do not know what caused him to fall into a coma and suffer severe brain damage although they believe it occurred shortly after he was arrested in North Korea. Mr Warmbier was accused by North Korean officials of trying to steal a propaganda poster in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years jail.

US doctors say his body did not show signs of beating or torture but said tests also did not support claims made by North Korea that it was caused by a combination of botulism and sleeping pills.

His death has sparked an angry response in Washington.

Key senators such as Republicans John McCain and Marco Rubio have accused Pyongyang of effectively murdering the student.

“Otto Warmbier should never have been in jail for tearing down a stupid banner and he most certainly should not have been murdered for it,” Senator Rubio said.

The US is considering banning US citizens from visiting North Korea as tourists in the wake of his death.

The company which took Mr Warmbier of a five day tour of North Korea, Young Pioneer Tours, said yesterday it would no longer take US citizens to that country because of the risk.

The tragedy has increased pressure on the White House to retaliate against North Korea but its options are limited.

Senior US and Chinese officials are meeting in Washington tomorrow and is expected that the US will use the meeting to exhort Beijing to take tougher economic action against its ally Pyongyang in the wake of Mr Warmbier’s death.

US president Donald Trump said: “Otto’s fate deepens my administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency.”

Mr Warmbier’s parents who only found out that their son was in a coma weeks ago blamed North Korea for the ‘torturous mistreatment’ of their son.

“Unfortunately the awful, torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today,” they said.