Otto Warmbier’s Death a New Wedge Between U.S. and North Korea
They said that Mr. Yun’s trip was the first fruit of those efforts and
that North Korea may have freed Mr. Warmbier to open up space for diplomacy with Washington, even if they anticipated the anger that his condition would provoke in the United States.
"North Koreans might have feelers out to see if there is a deal to be made with the Trump administration, and releasing Mr. Warmbier is a way to move
that process along, while also removing what could be an obstacle down the road." Mr. Warmbier’s death comes at a delicate time in international diplomacy surrounding North Korea.
In a series of low-key communications with the North Koreans in recent months, the Trump administration pushed for the release of Mr. Warmbier
and the three other Americans as a first step toward improving ties, according to South Korean officials and others familiar with the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Mr. Warmbier’s case has drawn new attention to the other three American prisoners
in North Korea, who Mr. Yun was allowed to meet when he visited Pyongyang.
Another Chinese analyst, Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor of international relations at Renmin University, said Mr. Warmbier’s death illustrated the "failure of North Korea’s hostage diplomacy"
because it would strengthen "hard-liners" in the Trump administration.
Analysts said anger over Mr. Warmbier’s death would dim, if not scuttle, any prospect of a less antagonistic relationship in the near future between Washington
and Pyongyang, which is still holding three other Americans.
