Tillerson said the State Department is continuing "to have discussions" with North Korea about the release of other three American citizens imprisoned there.
The 22-year-old from Cincinnati Ohio was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to steal a propaganda banner in 2016.
Warmbier, 22, was freed more than a year after a North Korean court sentenced him to 15 years in prison and hard labor. It has been widely reported that Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un are good friends. Tillerson said the State Department secured his release at Trump's direction, and a department spokeswoman was firm in saying Rodman's trip had nothing to do with Warmbier's release.
The DPRK has detained a handful of American citizens in the last ten years, and it isn't entirely clear why anyone would risk visiting there.
The US government has refused to comment on Otto's condition out of respect for his family.
During that meeting in New York, Yun was told that Warmbier contracted botulism a year ago and went into a coma after taking a sleeping pill, according to the senior United States official.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has faced a growing national security challenge from North Korea, which has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests in defiance of U.S. and worldwide sanctions.
Warmbier, 22, is due to arrive home in Cincinnati on Tuesday evening, after a stop at a USA military facility near Sapporo, Japan.
Before arriving this time, Rodman told reporters that Trump would be happy with the trip, since he was "trying to accomplish something that we both need", sparking speculation that he may be operating as an unofficial envoy.
ANNA FIFIELD: Once Otto Warmbier's condition was known, I'm told that the president did become involved, that he was informed, that he personally gave the order to do everything that they could to get Otto Warmbier out.
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Rodman said ahead of his trip that the detained Americans were not on his agenda for the visit, his fifth to the country but his first with President Trump in office.
A former Virginia resident, Kim Dong-chul, was arrested shortly after Warmbier, on accusations of espionage, and has been held since. There, Yun learned about Warmbier's "condition", the White House official said.
Sen. Rob Portman of OH said in a statement that Tillerson had confirmed to him Warmbier's release. The US Department of State's special representative for North Korea Joseph Yun and several doctors traveled to Pyongyang to escort Warmbier out of the country.
Lawmakers from Virginia also hailed Warmbier's release and denounced North Korea of its actions.
He had been on a stopover tour in North Korea, en route to Hong Kong, where he was going to study.
In a tearful statement made before his trial, Mr Warmbier told a gathering of reporters in Pyongyang he was offered a used auto worth $US10,000 ($13,200) if he could get a propaganda banner and was also told that if he was detained and didn't return, $US200,000 ($265,000) would be paid to his mother in the form of a charitable donation. During that journey, the colorful Hall of Famer criticized Korean-American Kenneth Bae, who was held captive in North Korea at the time.
The US had accused the North of using Warmbier as a political pawn, and condemned the sentence as far out of proportion to his alleged crime.
MARGARET WARNER: The release also coincides with former National Basketball Association player Dennis Rodman's latest visit to Pyongyang.
His release was announced by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Tuesday. Trump has lobbied China to exert more economic and political pressure on North Korea and has called on leaders of other Asian nations to cut their diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. "Fred, Cindy, and the Warmbier family have been remarkably strong throughout this ordeal".
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