Washington: US President Donald Trump planned to have dinner with the parents of an American college student who died in 2017 shortly after being freed from captivity in North Korea.

An administration official said Trump was to host the parents of Otto Warmbier at the weekend, who was convicted of trying to steal a propaganda poster while in the North Korea capital and spent 17 months in prison.

He died at age 22 just days after being returned to the United States in a vegetative state.

Otto Warmbier pictured last year in Pyongyang. Credit:AP

Trump's ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, was expected to join the dinner. Officials say he is among the 15 candidates Trump is considering to replace ousted national security adviser John Bolton.