Story highlights Warmbier was released last week

He died on Monday

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that Otto Warmbier, the American who died days after his release from North Korea, would still be alive if he had been released sooner.

"He should have been brought home that same day. The results would have been a lot different," Trump said.

The Trump administration secured Warmbier's release from North Korea last week on humanitarian grounds after nearly 18 months of imprisonment. He arrived in the US last Tuesday in a coma and died on Monday.

Trump called the situation a "disgrace" and is now facing calls for the US to respond to North Korea for its role in Warmbier's death.

But on Tuesday, answering a question during an Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian president, Trump focused on lamenting the length of Warmbier's imprisonment and the delay in securing his release.

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