Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Otto Warmbier's doctors said he is breathing on his own but does not consistently respond to verbal cues.
Meanwhile, doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center have asserted that Otto Warmbier, has extensive brain damage and shows no current signs of botulism, as claimed by Pyongyang.
The doctors would not comment on Warmbier's prognosis or his chances of fully recovering, citing his parents' wishes.
Doctors treating Otto at Cincinnati Medical Center describe his condition as extremely serious after a severe neurological injury.
"The North Koreans lure Americans to travel to North Korea via tour groups run out of China, who advertise slick ads on the Internet claiming no American ever gets detained off of our tours, and this is a safe place to go", said Fred. "Even if you believe their explanation of botulism and a sleeping pill causing the coma - and we don't - there's no excuse for a civilized nation to have kept his condition secret and to have denied him top notch medical care".
United States doctors said they found no evidence of active botulism, a rare, serious illness caused by contaminated food or a dirty wound.
While thousands travel to North Korea each year and return safely, Warmbier's story shows there's a bad price to be paid for some. Medics at the hospital believe his condition is the result of respiratory arrest, which is caused by a lack of oxygen and blood in the brain.
"The day after he was sentenced, he went into a coma", Fred Warmbier said in the Fox interview.
Warmbier, 22, arrived in the United States on Tuesday.
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Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were also flown out by helicopter. The destroyer is salvageable, but repairs probably will take months, he said .
However, North Korea's isolation made Warmbier's release a hard case. As he is known to be in charge of nuclear issues, though the aim of his visit was for securing the release of American detainees in North Korea, there are speculations that the US and North Korea could have met to test the waters for further discussions.
He said officials had counseled the family to not speak out about Otto's detention, to avoid antagonizing the reclusive regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. "I don't know what being in shock is, but I'm pretty sure I was", the father told assembled reporters in Cincinnati. I was also the only person to see Otto taken away, ' Gratton said.
"We have no certain info about what happened to Otto", Foreman said.
Otto's father, Fred, said North Korea has denied their son "top-notch medical care" when they chose to keep his health condition a secret for a long time.
For his alleged crime, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
Fred also said they followed the Obama administration to keep a low profile. He said Obama "worked through every avenue available" to try to secure Warmbier's release.
While in North Korea, Rodman was shown in video and photos presenting the isolated country's sports minister Kim Il Guk with off-the-wall gifts that included a copy of Trump's book "The Art of the Deal", soap, two autographed jerseys and a copy of "Where's Waldo?".
Hyeon Soo Lim, a pastor who has lived in the Toronto area for three decades after emigrating from South Korea, has been detained in North Korea since 2015.
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