US parents file claim for North Korean ship

North Korea has denied mistreating Otta Warmbier. Pictured are his parents Cindy Warmbier and Fred Warmbier. Photo / AP

The parents of American college student Otto Warmbier have filed a claim for a seized North Korean cargo ship in a bid to collect a multimillion-dollar judgment in the young man's death.

Attorneys for the Warmbiers said in a court filing they had a right to the assets after North Korea failed to respond to their wrongful death claim.

The Warmbiers say their son was tortured after being convicted of trying to steal a propaganda poster and imprisoned for months.

He died days after being returned to the US in a vegetative state in 2017.

A US judge has ordered North Korea to pay more than $500 million in the Warmbiers' wrongful death suit.

North Korea has denied mistreating Warmbier.

The US seized the cargo ship in May because it was carrying coal in violation of UN sanctions.

- AP