--- description: The father of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died after being imprisoned in North Korea, will attend the Winter Olympics title: Otto Warmbier's Father to Attend Olympics Opening Ceremony image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98064b00495278b4/6988fa8f0a4a22304c9d1a12/gettyimages-696267254.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Father of Otto Warmbier Will Be Mike Pence's Guest at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2018 7:42 AM CUT  Fred Warmbier, father of the 22-year-old college student who died after his release from a North Korean prison, in Wyoming, Ohio on June 15, 2017. Fred Warmbier, father of the 22-year-old college student who died after his release from a North Korean prison, in Wyoming, Ohio on June 15, 2017.Bill Pugliano—Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2018 7:42 AM CUT The father of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died after being imprisoned in North Korea, will attend South Korea’s Winter Olympics [as a guest](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/02/04/father-of-otto-warmbier-who-died-after-being-held-in-north-korea-will-attend-olympic-opening-ceremony-as-guest-of-vice-president-pence/?utm%5Fterm=.a022fc24f372 "undefined") of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Fred Warmbier is scheduled to join Pence in PyeongChang, South Korea next week as the Vice President leads the U.S. 2018 Winter Olympic delegation at the opening ceremony for the games, the Washington _Post_ reports. The primary purpose of Pence’s five-day trip to Japan and South Korea is to maintain pressure on the North Korean regime, according to White House officials cited by the _Post_. Pyongyang detained Otto Warmbier in Jan. 2016 after he allegedly stole a propaganda poster during a tourist trip in the hermetic nation; after a secretive trial and what may have been a forced confession, the then 21-year-old was sentenced to 15 years hard labor. Warmbier was [released](http://time.com/4817541/otto-warmbier-north-korea-us/ "undefined") from custody in June 2017 — 17 months into his sentence — but died in a Cincinnati hospital six days after his return to the U.S. According to North Korean medical records he had been in a persistent vegetive state since April 2016\. It remains unclear how and why he fell unconscious. **Read more:** [_Otto Warmbier’s Death May Spell the End of American Tourism to North Korea. Sadly, That’s About It_](http://time.com/4824670/north-korea-otto-warmbier-kim-jong-un-torture/ "undefined") During last week’s State of the Union address, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a tribute to Otto’s mother as she, his father and two siblings sat in the audience. “You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires truly us all,” Trump said. “Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto’s memory with total American resolve.” The Warmbiers have [praised](http://time.com/4958626/otto-warmbier-parents-north-korea/ "undefined") Trump for bringing their son home. Employing a term used to describe the Obama administration’s approach to North Korea, Fred Warmbier previously told the _Post_ that the era of “strategic patience” was over for his family. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5133065/fred-otto-warmbier-korea-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5133065/fred-otto-warmbier-korea-olympics/"},"headline":"The Father of Otto Warmbier Will Be Mike Pence's Guest at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony","datePublished":"2018-02-05T07:42:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:08:34.934Z","description":"His son died soon after being imprisoned in North Korea","url":"https://time.com/5133065/fred-otto-warmbier-korea-olympics/","keywords":["North Korea","Winter Olympics","onetime","2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98064b00495278b4/6988fa8f0a4a22304c9d1a12/gettyimages-696267254.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98064b00495278b4/6988fa8f0a4a22304c9d1a12/gettyimages-696267254.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Parents Of Student Released From North Korean Prison Hold Press Conference","caption":"Parents Of Student Released From North Korean Prison Hold Press Conference","creditText":"Bill Pugliano—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5133065/fred-otto-warmbier-korea-olympics/","name":"The Father of Otto Warmbier Will Be Mike Pence's Guest at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony"}}]}] ```