The father of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American who died after being jailed in North Korea, will accompany Vice President Pence to the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies in South Korea.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that Fred Warmbier will be Pence’s guest as the vice president leads the U.S. delegation in Pyeongchang.
The Hill has reached out to Pence’s office for confirmation.
Fred Warmbier and his wife, Cindy Warmbier, were guests of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the State of the Union address earlier this week.
In 2016, Otto Warmbier was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after being convicted of attempting to steal a piece of propaganda from his hotel while visiting North Korea on a group tour.
{mosads}He was returned to the United States after more than a year in prison in a comatose state, and later died. Brain scans revealed severe brain damage brought on by lack of oxygen, but the exact cause of his death is still unknown.
Fred Warmbier has been critical of the Obama administration, saying that the former president could have done more to retrieve his son, and praised Trump for bringing him home.
While in Asia, Pence is expected to push back against North Korea’s positive media narrative around the Winter Olympics.