(CNN)North
Korea has allowed the world to get its first glimpse of Otto Frederick
Warmbier, an American student at the University of Virginia, two months after his arrest.
Warmbier
is accused of trying to steal a North Korean banner, containing a
political slogan that was hanging from the walls of his Pyongyang hotel.
A
North Korean official with direct knowledge of Warmbier's case says the
21-year-old held a press conference "at his own request" on Monday
morning at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang.
The
event provided insight into the bizarre charges the 21-year old is
facing in the secretive Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
including allegations he was encouraged to commit the "hostile act" by a
purported member of an Ohio church, a secretive university
organization, and even the CIA.
The
U.S. State Department said it was aware of media reports the U.S.
citizen was detained in North Korea but declined to comment further "due
to privacy considerations."
New details of alleged 'hostile act'
In
a video supplied to CNN, North Korean guards escorted Warmbier into the
room. He was not restrained, and was wearing dark trousers, a
light-colored blazer, shirt and tie.
U.S. student arrested in North Korea 02:26
Appearing
to read from a statement, Warmbier said: "I committed the crime of
taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the
Yanggakdo International Hotel." It is not known if the student was
forced by the DPRK to speak, or whether he was coerced.
"I
apologize to each and every one of the millions of the Korean people
and I beg that you see how I was used and manipulated," Warmbier said.
"My reward for my crime was so much smaller than the rewards that the Z
Society and the Friendship United Methodist Church get from the United
States Administration."
Warmbier is also seen in the video sobbing and pleading for forgiveness, and bowing deeply to apologize.
"I
never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United
States administration to commit a crime in this country. I wish that the
United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the
future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you,
the people and government of the DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I
made the worst mistake of my life!"
North Korea's allegations
North
Korea accuses Warmbier of surfing the Internet to study different DPRK
political slogans and plotting to steal one by folding it up on a thin
rectangular metal sheet, and concealing it in his suitcase.
The
official says Warmbier put on "quiet shoes" he brought from the United
States and just before 2 a.m. on January 1, 2016, entered the staff-only
second floor of the hotel intending to steal a sign or banner with a
political slogan.
Warmbier is originally from Ohio but had been studying at the University of Virginia.
"The
slogan was bigger than he had thought. So he couldn't take it away and
turned it upside down and deserted (it) on the floor when he had pulled
it from the hangers," the official said.
Warmbier,
a third-year business major at the University of Virginia originally,
was detained on January 2 as he was about to board a plane and leave the
country, according to Young Pioneer Tours, the China-based travel
company that organized his trip.
A
North Korean official with direct knowledge of the case tells CNN
Warmbier is accused of meeting last year with a member of the Friendship
United Methodist Church in Wyoming, Ohio -- a small suburb of
Cincinnati.
"[The church member]
emphasized that North Korea is an anti-Christian communist state and
that communism should be ended," said the North Korean official, who CNN
has agreed not to identify.
According
to the same official, the church member allegedly encouraged Warmbier
"to take an important political slogan from North Korea in order to
weaken the ideological unity and motivation of the North Koreans" and
promised to give him a "$10,000 used car" if the "mission" was
successful.
CNN spoke with the church's
Senior Pastor Meshach Kanyion who did not know the purported church
"deaconess" named by North Korean officials. He said Warmbier is not a
member of the church, which has a congregation of around 500 people.
"I've
never met his family. Clearly there are some people who know him and
went to school with him. If his family went to our church, we would've
been much more involved [in pushing for his release]," Kanyion said.
While
most of Z Society's on campus philanthropic activities are kept secret,
some members choose to reveal themselves on graduation day by wearing Z
Society rings.
Z Society distances itself
North
Korea also alleges Warmbier met last year with a member of Z Society, a
secretive philanthropic organization at UVA which is known to paint
their symbol "Z" around university grounds. Warmbier was allegedly told
he could gain membership to the selective organization if he carried out
his "mission." North Korea alleges that the Z Society has links to the
CIA.
A member of the Z Society at UVA
told CNN the organization sought to anonymously reward students who
contributed positively to the university. The source said the group had
never had any contact with Warmbier and he'd never been approached to
be a member.
The source also dismissed suggestions the group had any affiliation with the CIA.
"There's
just not even the semblance of a relationship between a group of
undergrads who get together to eat hummus and write nice things about
people, and the CIA," the Z Society member said.
When
contacted by CNN, a University of Virginia spokesman said: "The
university is aware of recent media reports and remains in close contact
with Otto Warmbier's family. We will have no further comment at this
time."
American tourists as political pawns?
Warmbier's
arrest has once again raised questions about the safety of American
tourists traveling to North Korea. Some have accused the regime of using
detained U.S. citizens as political pawns.
Days after Warmbier's arrest in January, Pyongyang claimed to test its first H-bomb. The provocative act, followed by a satellite launch weeks later, has resulted in even further isolation of the North. An upcoming U.N. resolution intends to impose heightened sanctions on Pyongyang, which its powerful neighbor and benefactor China has vowed to carry out.
DPRK
observers believe the timing of Warmbier's press conference, with new
sanctions on the horizon, may be a deliberate move by the regime.
U.S. detainees in North Korea speak 02:27
North
Korean travel agencies stress nearly all Americans who travel to the
DPRK return home safely. But there have been several incidents of
American tourists detained in recent years.
In
September 2014, CNN was granted a surprise interview with Matthew
Miller and Jeffrey Fowle in Pyongyang after they were detained, along
with Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae.
Miller
admitted to tearing up his tourist visa upon entering the country and
Fowle admitted to leaving a Bible in a local club while on a tourist
trip -- a criminal offense in North Korea. Both men, along with Bae,
were subsequently released after U.S. intervention, including a visit to
Pyongyang by U.S. spy chief James Clapper.
On its website,
the US State Department "strongly recommends against all travel to the
DPRK" citing the "risk of arrest and long-term detention due to the
DPRK's inconsistent application of its criminal laws."