Ted Poe: “North Korea released Otto Warmbier last week after 17 months of imprisonment and torture. Otto returned home in a coma…”

“North Korea released Otto Warmbier last week after 17 months of imprisonment and torture. Otto returned home in a coma, never again to speak or see his parents. Yesterday, he died--murdered, actually--from brain damage because of the Korean beatings that he endured. North Korea had humiliated Otto for allegedly stealing a pro- government placard, forcing him to publicly beg for forgiveness. Now, these are the tactics of terrorists. We need to ramp up the pressure on North Korea. Three other Americans are still being held in North Korea for apparent political reasons. We must prioritize saving their lives. It is time to call it like it is: designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Doing so would isolate the country and publicly categorize North Korea with many other rogue nations. The House has already passed my bill to designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Now the Senate needs to do the same. Little Kim has American blood on his hands. Give him and his outlaw regime the designation it deserves, a terrorist state. And that is just the way it is. ____________________”