
The final photographs of Otto Warmbier in North Korea show him happily mingling with locals, drinking beer and laughing with his tour group of new friends before he was jailed for stealing a propaganda poster, imprisoned for 17 months and 'brutalised' into a coma from which he died this week.

The images were obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com on Tuesday, a day after the 22-year-old died at a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, after being suddenly returned to his family on 'humanitarian release' by the North Korean regime on June 13.

They show him gleefully throwing snowballs with portraits of dictator Kim Jong Un in the background and posing with local women and members of the tour group he was a part of.

In others, he is seen sampling local delicacies in restaurants, posing for a selfies and giggling on their bus on New Year's Eve.

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In the final photographs of Otto Warmbier before he was imprisoned by North Korean officials and brutalized into a coma, the 22-year-old is seen laughing with his new friends during their tour and enjoying the culture which would later cost him his life

Clearly comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings, Otto was a popular member of his tour group. He is seen enjoying a meal of local food washed down with Heineken and water

In another image, the University of Virginia student smiles to have his photo taken in front of bronze statues of Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong II. Jong Un has been blamed for his death by politicians including the president and by Otto's grieving family

He is joyful in all of them and oblivious to the shocking fate which awaited him at Pyongyang Airport where he was arrested as he tried to make his way home on January 2, 2016 for stealing a poster at a hotel.

Grainy surveillance footage appeared to show him ripping it down. North Korean authorities say he stole it and likened it to a hostile act on the country and jailed Otto mercilessly for it.

His friends on the trip say he never removed the poster from the hotel and say he was in bed on the night of the alleged theft with an early flight to catch the next day and no reason to risk his freedom.

'He was in bed the night in question, and the next morning we had an early departure from the airport. He was in a good mood that morning.

'The poster story didn't arise until a few weeks later. The footage North Korea released was grainy, and only showed someone taking it down, and not even leaving with it,' said one member of the group who wished to remain anonymous.

'Irregardless the punishment never fit the crime, and now it is even more so. The cruel, harsh and barbaric North Korean regime murdered an innocent 22-year old American student, and more importantly our dear friend,' they added.

They remembered Otto by his 'laugh, his infectious smile, and his ability to love everyone.'

Towering over local women, Otto smiles again for another photograph on a snowy day during the trip in 2016

Gleefully, he tosses snowballs and poses for a selfie with one of his new friends at the restaurant while enjoying their meal

On New Year's Eve, Otto laughs and grimaces with his friends as they make their way to their next destination on their bus

Another snowball fight, this time with local children who joined Otto and his friends to pose for the camera

Danny Gratton, Otto's roommate in the hotel, was with him when he was unceremoniously arrested at Pyongyang Airport.

He told The Washington Post on Monday that two guards tapped him on the shoulder and marched him away without explanation.

'No words were spoken. Two guards just come over and simply tapped Otto on the shoulder and led him away. I just said kind of quite nervously, "Well, that’s the last we’ll see of you." There’s a great irony in those words,' he said.

Otto's death has sent shockwaves through Washington D.C. and has added a sobering, human dimension to the US's bubbling tension with North Korea.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, John McCain and others at all levels of government have admonished Kim Jong Un - and the Obama administration - for the student's disturbing fate.

As his family announced his death on Monday, they didn't reserve any diplomacy either.

'The awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today,' Cindy and Fred Warmbier said in a statement.

'When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th, he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands.

'He looked very uncomfortable - almost anguished. Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance on his face changed - he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.

Curious about the local culture, he is seen watching as others dig into their food on another day of the trip

In the pale blue jacket and boots he wore throughout the trip, Otto poses with another of his new friends and laughs long during a group joke on the bus

Selfie squad: Otto, wearing some plaid earmuffs and his blue jacket, leads the snap-happy pack as they take in the sights

Shocked doctors from the Cincinnati Medical Center, where Otto was rushed immediately after he returned to the US last week, say he suffered extensive brain loss.

He was almost vegetative when he returned to Ohio. They say he was unable to speak, showed no signs he could understand what others were saying to him and gave a bleak prognosis.

None offered speculation on what may have caused his condition but they undermined North Korea's dubious story that it was the result of botulism, a form of severe food poisoning. They claim he contracted it while in their custody and that a sleeping pill they gave him sent him into a coma.

North Korean doctors claimed the student had been this way since the day after he was sentenced to 15 years hard labour in 2016.

The American doctors who reviewed MRI scans that were sent back on a private medical plane with him say they saw no evidence of botulism.

They suggested that his condition was more likely the result of a heart attack but would not speculate on what may have caused such a trauma in a young, otherwise healthy man.

Otto returned to Cincinnati last week on a private medical plane. He was almost vegetative, unable to speak or communicate with family and was taken straight to the hospital where he died on Tuesday

In March 2016, he wept as he was led away by North Korean police after being sentenced to 15 years hard labour. North Korean officials say the following day, he contracted botulism - a form of food poisoning - and that this is what caused his medical decline

On Tuesday, a coroner in Cincinnati granted the Warmbier family's request not to have an autopsy performed on Otto's body. The family has not offered any explanation for the decision.

They have however planned a public funeral for their son which will take place on Thursday at his old high school in the town of Wyoming, Ohio.

President Trump has been disturbed by the youngster's death and spoke numerous times on Monday and Tuesday to mourn him.

In a statement, he said: 'Melania and I offer our deepest condolences to the family of Otto Warmbier on his untimely passing.

'There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto's family and friends and all who loved him.

'Otto's fate deepens my administration's determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency.

Fred Warmbier (pictured) and his wife Cindy have requested that a coroner does not perform an autopsy on their son's body and have organized a public funeral for him at his old high school

'The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.'

Vice President Pence said his death served as a 'tragic example' of the country's 'disregard for human life.'

John McCain went even further, saying dictator Kim Jong Un 'murdered' the student.

On Tuesday, still haunted by his death and its impact with the country's relations with North Korea, President Trump said China had been unhelpful in resolving the situation before it was too late but gave President Xi Jinping credit for trying.

'While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!' he tweeted.

He later blamed President Obama for not rescuing Otto from the regime's grip sooner.

'It's a disgrace what happened to Otto. It's a total disgrace what happened to Otto. It should never, ever be allowed to happen,' Trump told reporters during an Oval Office photo op, adding: 'He should have been brought home that same day. The results would have been a lot different.'

Otto's release last week coincided with a bizarre visit to North Korea by actor Dennis Rodman.

There were loose suggestions the trip was an attempt by North Korean officials to distract from Warmbier's condition.

Rodman, who wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a caricature of himself and the words 'Ambassador Rodman' on the front, has not commented on Warmbier's death.

Young Pioneer Tours, the tour group which organized Otto's trip, has also faced a barrage of criticism. It suddenly announced it would stop taking Americans to the country after Otto's death on Monday.

Otto's father said it had 'lured' him there with a fantasy description of a boozy but safe holiday.

'He was trying to leave the country and he was taken hostage. They advertise it as the safest tour ever. But they provide fodder for the North Koreans. They took him hostage. And the outcome is self-evident,' Fred Warmbier said.

A British lawyer, who visited North Korea with the same company in 2011, said she was taken to an 'off-limits' floor of a hotel in Pyongyang by her guide.

She told DailyMail.com how she feared the tour company, which is based in China, underestimated the risks involved and was taking young, naive tourists into potentially dangerous situations.