[WORLD NEWS ★★]
US STUDENT GIVEN HARD LABOUR IN NORTH KOREA
(P1) US student Otto Warmbier has been given 15 years HARD LABOUR in North Korea for crimes against the state.
(P2) Warmbier, 21, was ARRESTED for trying to steal a PROPAGANDA sign from a hotel while visiting North Korea in January.
(P3) He later appeared on state TV CONFESSING to the crime and saying a church group had asked him to bring back a “TROPHY” from his trip.
(P4) North Korea sometimes uses the DETENTION of foreigners as a means of EXERTING PRESSURE on its ADVERSARIES.
(P5) The 15-year sentence is high compared to those given to foreigners in the past.
(P6) This could be due to the high TENSIONS at the moment between North Korea and the US.
(P7) Warmbier was CONVICTED under a law relating to SUBVERSION. The VERDICT was HANDED DOWN by the SUPREME COURT.
(P8) Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was arrested on 2 January as he was trying to leave North Korea. He was accused of committing “HOSTILE acts”.
(P9) At the end of February, at a PRESS CONFERENCE in the capital Pyongyang, he said he had “committed the crime of taking down a political sign”.
(P10) He said it was the “worst mistake” of his life.
(P11) North Korea prisoners often RECANT their confessions once out of the country.
(P12) US tourism to North Korea is legal but the US State Department strongly advises against it.
(P13) The SENTENCING comes a day after US DIPLOMAT Bill Richardson met North Korean officials at the UN in New York to ask for Warmbier’s release.
(P14) Human Rights Watch (HRW) CONDEMNED the sentence: “North Korea’s sentencing of Otto Warmbier to 15 years hard labour for a college-style PRANK is OUTRAGEOUS.”
WORDS: 280
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35818581
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Would you travel to North Korea if you had the OPPORTUNITY?
- Why does North Korea have almost no friends among other nations?
- Why did Otto Warmbier do such a FOOLISH thing? Is he just young?
- Do you think that he will actually serve 15 years?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Hard labour
- Hand down
- Supreme Court
- Press conference
