An American tourist cried hysterically in a North Korean courtroom Wednesday after a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison with hard labor on a subversion charge, as US officials demanded his release and the White House announced tough new sanctions on the insular Southeast Asian state.

Otto Warmbier admitted to attempting to steal a propaganda banner from a restricted area of his hotel at the request of an acquaintance who wanted to hang it in her church.

Warmbier, a 21-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate student, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial at the North's Supreme Court.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the sentence was 'unduly harsh' and urged North Korea to pardon Warmbier and release him on humanitarian grounds.

'Despite official claims that U.S. citizens arrested in the DPRK are not used for political purposes, it's increasingly clear from its very public treatment of these cases that the DPRK does exactly that,' Toner told reporters, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Emotional: Otto Warmbier cries at court in an undisclosed location in North Korea

He was arrested in January while visiting the country with Young Pioneer Tours, an agency specializing in travel to North Korea

Warmbier, 21, was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel while visiting North Korea in January

The American college student was sentenced to 15 years hard labor after being found guilty of 'crimes against the state'

Warmbier was charged with subversion. No further details were immediately available.

Hours after Warmbier's sentence was made public, president Barack Obama announced new, tough sanctions on North Korea.

There was no apparent connection between Obama's executive order and North Korea's treatment of Warmbier.

The executive order was issued in response to North Korea's January 6 nuclear test and its ballistic missile launch the following day, the White House wrote in a statement.

'The U.S. and the global community will not tolerate North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and we will continue to impose costs on North Korea until it comes into compliance with its international obligations,' the statement concluded.

The president's order allows for U.S. implementation of sanctions approved by the United Nations two weeks ago.

The sanctions include mandatory inspections of cargo leaving and entering North Korea by land, sea or air; a ban on all sales or transfers of small arms and light weapons to Pyongyang; and expulsion of diplomats from the North who engage in 'illicit activities.'

The president also announced the implementation of an act passed unanimously in the Senate last week that will sanction anyone who contributes to North Korea's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms-related materials, luxury goods, human rights abuses and activities undermining cyber security.

Warmbier speaks at his trial in North Korea. He has been detained since January. On Wednesday, North Korean officials said Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor

This picture shows press and other people gathered at the March 16 trial of Otto Warmbier

Last month, North Korea paraded Warmbier before the media in Pyongyang, where he tearfully apologized for attempting to steal the political banner.

He sobbed as he begged for forgiveness for the 'hostile' act, claiming the attempted theft, from a staff-only section of the hotel where he had been staying, had been at the behest of a member of a church back home who wanted it as a 'trophy'.

'I made the worst mistake of my life,' the tearful UVA student said at the press conference, which was covered by North Korean and international media, according to CNN.

'I committed the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel,' Warmbier said.

'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,' the student's statement continued.

'I plead for you to forgive me, not for me, but for my family,' he added.

In video from the press conference, Warmbier could be seen bowing his head as he asked for forgiveness.

He said: '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.'

'SADISTIC, HELLISH, DEPRAVED': A TERRIFYING GLIMPSE INTO LIFE INSIDE A NORTH KOREAN GULAG Chilling testimony from a former guard at one of North Korea's notorious prison camps has revealed the shocking cruelties and deprivation the inmates face. The man, known only as 'Lee' to prevent reprisals against his family, was a guard at Prison camp No16, also known as Hwasong camp, where 20,000 political prisoners live. The total amount of political prisoners in North Korea is estimated at 200,000. In a system that has been compared to Soviet Gulags and Nazi concentration camps, prisoners are typically worked until death and subjected to torture and forced starvation. Lee watched one man get murdered by two soldiers. The prisoner was first questioned by a man at a desk and then ordered to leave through a door at the back of the room. Behind the door was a pair of men, one of whom had a rubber cord. One wrapped it around the prisoner's neck while the other tightened it. Another grisly execution method Lee heard about was prisoners being forced to dig holes in a field. They were then told to stand on the edge before being hit on the back of a head with a hammer. Guards bragged to each other about the sadistic ways they had dispatched their terrified and helpless victims. Prisoners had to walk seven miles to work in -25C conditions. Starvation was rife and the prisoners were often worked to death. In a 2014 UN report, one political prisoner described being strung over a lit fire during interrogation, and having a finger cut off for dropping a sewing machine while performing forced labor. Amnesty International published this satellite image of a North Korean prison camp One form of torture recounted by escapees is known as 'pigeon torture.' One survivor described how 'your hands are handcuffed behind your back. And then they hang you so you would not be able to stand or sit.' The UN report found that 'the majority of prisoners who remain in the camps have no prospect of ever being released.' 'The camps are surrounded by high perimeter fences that are electrified at a deadly voltage and further secured by barbed wire. Pit traps and minefields are also placed around the perimeter fence.' 'Camp guards are under firm orders to shoot to kill anyone trying to escape and they are rewarded if they do.' Punishment for minor infractions include 'ration cuts and additional forced labour' as well as 'solitary confinement, beatings and mutilation.' One political prisoner described being strung over a lit fire during interrogation, and having a finger cut off for dropping a sewing machine while performing forced labor. Satellite imagery shows a remote North Korean prison camp Starvation is one of the most common causes of death in the camps. Former prison guards testified that starvation in the camps is 'a deliberate measure to keep prisoners weak and easy to control and to augment their suffering.' Given the minimal rations of food, which in some cases consist only of corn and salt, 'prisoners are only be able to survive over longer periods of time by hunting and gathering insects, rodents and wild plants or finding ways to divert food meant for the guards and farm animals.' Advertisement

In this picture released by North Korean officials, Warmbier appears to attach his thumb print to a document during his trial

North Korea sometimes uses the detention of foreigners as a means of exerting pressure on its adversaries

American student Otto Warmbier is escorted on Wednesday at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang in the secretive state

The alleged attempted theft occurred on January 1, the day before Warmbier was due to leave the country after a trip organized through the China-based travel agency Young Pioneer Tours (pictured Wednesday)

'I entirely beg you, the people and government of [North Korea], for your forgiveness. Please!'

The CIA, an underground organization at the University of Virginia, and a church member in Warmbier's hometown of Wyoming, Ohio, were all blamed for pressuring the student to commit the crime, CNN reported.

It is unknown whether or not Warmbier was forced to speak at the press conference - but a North Korean official told the station the student called the press conference 'at his own request.'

However, the insular East Asian nation, whose official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is known for staging propaganda spectacles in opposition to the United States.

In previous cases, people who have been detained in North Korea and made a public confession often recant those statements after their release.

After his confession, Warmier's parents released a statement saying they hoped their son would be freed.

I entirely beg you, the people and government of [North Korea], for your forgiveness. Please! Otto Warmbier

'I hope the fact that he has conveyed his sincere apology for anything that he may have done wrong will now make it possible for the DPRK authorities to allow him to return home,' said Fred and Cindy Warmbier in a statement to their son's school newspaper, University of Virginia'sCavalier Daily.

'I urge the DPRK government to consider his youth and make an important humanitarian gesture by allowing him to return to his loved ones,' the family's February 28 statement continued.

North Korea announced in late January it had arrested Warmbier – but no details of what kind of charges or punishment Warmbier faces were immediately released.

He was arrested while visiting the country with Young Pioneer Tours, an agency specializing in travel to North Korea, which is strongly discouraged by the U.S. State Department.

He had been staying at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, which is located on an island in a river that runs through Pyongyang, the capital.

It is common for sections of tourist hotels to be reserved for North Korean staff and off-limits to foreigners.

The alleged attempted theft occurred on January 1, the day before Warmbier was due to leave the country after a trip organized through the China-based travel agency Young Pioneer Tours.

As Warmbier was about to board the plane from Pyongyang, he was detained by North Korean authorities, witnesses said.

An Irish student who was booked on the same flight as Warmbier said the American was accosted by armed officials at the airport and dragged away.

'When we were leaving one of the other tour group's [the Young Pioneers] tour leader said 'We're missing Otto,'' the student, who was only identified as Darragh, told the Independent.

'[The tour leader] got up and was really frantically running up and down the plane. She ran to the air hostess and was trying to say to the air hostess that "we're missing Otto." She then went up to business class and he wasn't there.'

Warmbier, the detained University of Virginia student tearfully apologized for attempting to steal a political banner in this picture taken on February 29

Otto Warmbier went to North Korea on a tourist trip organized through a travel agency. When he was about to leave the country, he was arrested for allegedly trying to steal a political banner. Pictured here in file photos

Warmbier bowed during his confession and asked for forgiveness for his 'hostile act' against North Korea (he is pictured on February 29)

This file photo taken during Warmbier's initial press conference February 29, 2016 was released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 1

According to Warmbier's statement on Monday, he wanted the banner with a political slogan on it as a trophy for the church member, who was the mother of a friend.

In his comments, Warmbier said he was offered a used car worth $10,000 by a member of the church.

He said the church member told him the slogan would be hung on its wall as a trophy. He also said he was told that if he was detained and didn't return, $200,000 would be paid to his mother in the form of a charitable donation.

Warmbier identified the church as the Friendship United Methodist Church, which is in his hometown of Wyoming, in Ohio.

Meshach Kanyion, pastor of the church, would not confirm whether he knows Warmbier or if he is a church member.

'I don't have any comment at this time,' he told The Associated Press.

Warmbier's parents said they had not heard from their son since his arrest and were greatly relieved to finally see a picture of him.

'You can imagine how deeply worried we were and what a traumatic experience this has been for us,' Warmbier's father, Fred Warmbier, said in a statement provided by the University of Virginia.

'I hope the fact that he has conveyed his sincere apology for anything that he may have done wrong will now make it possible for the (North Korean) authorities to allow him to return home,' he said.

The university said it had no immediate comment other than that it was in close contact with Warmbier's family.

Warmbier told reporters in Pyongyang that he had also been encouraged in his act by the university's 'Z Society,' which he said he was trying to join. The magazine of the university's alumni association describes the Z Society as a 'semi-secret ring society' that was founded in 1892 and conducts philanthropy, puts on honorary dinners and grants academic awards.

Warmbier said he accepted the offer of money because his family is 'suffering from very severe financial difficulties.'

'I started to consider this as my only golden opportunity to earn money,' he said, adding that if he ever mentioned the involvement of the church, 'no payments would come.'

North Korea regularly accuses Washington and Seoul of sending spies to overthrow its government to enable the U.S.-backed South Korean government to control the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. tourism to North Korea is legal and virtually all Americans who make the journey return home without incident.

Even so, the State Department has repeatedly warned against travel to the North. Visitors, especially those from America, who break the country's sometimes murky rules risk detention, arrest and possible jail sentences.

Young Pioneer describes itself on its website as providing 'budget tours to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from.'

The agency, based in China, also has tours to Iran, Cuba, Turkmenistan, Iraq and other former Soviet countries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (above) is known for staging propaganda spectacles in opposition to the US

After Warmbier's detention, it stressed in a news release that he was the first of the 7,000 people it has taken to North Korea over the past eight years to face arrest.

'Despite what you may hear, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit,' it says on its website.

In the past, North Korea has held out until senior U.S. officials or statesmen came to personally bail out detainees, all the way up to former President Bill Clinton, whose visit in 2009 secured the freedom of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Both had crossed North Korea's border from China illegally.

It took a visit in November 2014 by U.S. spy chief James Clapper to bring home Matthew Miller, who had ripped up his visa when entering the country, and Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae, who had been incarcerated since November 2012.

Jeffrey Fowle, another U.S. tourist from Ohio detained for six months at about the same time as Miller, was released just before that and sent home on a U.S. government plane.

He left a Bible in a local club hoping a North Korean would find it, which is considered a criminal offense in North Korea.