A doctor who examined Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year, addressed the media at a press conference on Thursday.
Kelly Martin of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center says Warmbier remains in a coma after arriving at the hospital two days ago. Warmbier's mother is by his side in the hospital and doctors are reportedly planning an update on his condition later on Thursday.
Warmbier's father Fred lashed out earlier Thursday at the North Korean regime, saying he did not believe its claim that his son contracted botulism and fell into a coma shortly after being arrested a year ago.
Warmbier was released Tuesday from North Korea, where he had been jailed for more than 17 months.
The story volunteered by North Korean officials - that Warmbier suffered from botulism (a kind of food poisoning), took a sleeping pill, and never woke up - could not be verified and did not hold up to medical scrutiny, the doctors said.
"Otto is not in great shape right now", Fred Warmbier, Otto's father, told Fox News in an interview Wednesday.
"We don't believe anything they [North Korea] say", Fred Warmbier said, wearing a sport coat Otto Warmbier had worn during a broadcast confession of his crimes past year in North Korea.
On a number of occasions, Fred Warmbier thanked the people who worked to bring his son home and said that he was "proud" of Otto.
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The North Korean regime deemed him a "war criminal" and "brutalized and terrorized" him during his detainment, his father said. "They are brutal and bad", said Mr Warmbier.
On Thursday, North Korea said that it had released Warmbier "on humanitarian grounds". Three Americans remain in custody. Warmbier's release was announced on Tuesday by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Kanter said Warmbier's vital signs were stable upon arrival. He was then transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Warmbiers did not learn of their son's medical condition until last month.
Bill Richardson, a former USA ambassador to the United Nations, called for an investigation into what happened to Warmbier.
Fred Warmbier also stated that President Trump called him on Wednesday night, saying, "It was a really nice conversation".
Such detentions in the totalitarian nation have added to tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
The retired sports celebrity was credited with the release of another US captive in 2014, but Warmbier's release was negotiated between the two governments.
With the emplacement of the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea and increased pressure from the Chinese (at the behest of President Trump), North Korea is feeling the pressure.
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