Mourners gather for funeral of student detained in North Korea

Mourners hoping to get a seat inside began lining up close to an hour before the funeral.

During his funeral at his Wyoming High School alma mater, loved ones will pay tribute to a son, a brother, a neighbor and a friend.

Bagpipes blared after the service as Warmbier's casket was carried out of the building toward a waiting hearse, followed by a long line of mourners.

Hundreds of people were seen beforehand lined up outside the Pendery Center for the Arts, part of Wyoming High School, waiting to enter the auditorium for the service.

His family declined an autopsy to determine what may have caused him to fall into a coma on his return to America. Warmbier was to be buried at a Cincinnati cemetery.

He is the first American to die after being released from North Korean custody in half a century. However, he was arrested while trying to board a plane on January 2, 2016 and charged with "hostile acts against the state" for allegedly attempting to take down a large propaganda sign lauding the regime at his hotel in Pyongyang.

Mr Warmbier was traveling in North Korea with a tour group.

Cynthia Meis, his college admissions counselor from high school, said she admires the strength displayed by Warmbier's parents in the face of such loss and the glare of worldwide media attention. Rabbi Jake Rubin, who leads the Hillel at UVA and who called Warmbier "a beloved member of our Hillel community", would not confirm to JTA whether or not Warmbier was Jewish.

China's close relationship with North Korea was born on the blood-stained battlefields of the 1950-53 Korean War, but it is more than shared experiences of combat that is preventing Beijing from ditching its traditional ally.

In a statement announcing his death, Warmbier's family described him as "a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds". Otto Warmbier coached Cain's son in swimming and "made a great impression on him", she said.

Rest in peace, Otto Warmbier.

His language was echoed by South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who said in an interview ahead of a White House visit next week that North Korea bears responsibility for the student's death.

Warmbier said Trump, who was "very candid" during the telephone call, told him Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other USA officials worked hard to negotiate his son's release.

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office conducted only an external examination Warmbier's body. In a news conference before Warmbier's death, they said they found no evidence of botulism, casting doubt on North Korea's claim. "But they've shown through their treatment of Otto a disregard for basic human rights for human dignity".

The U.S. official's remarks came after North Korean Ambassador to India Kye Chun-yong said Wednesday that Pyongyang is willing to talk in terms of freezing its nuclear and missile tests under certain circumstances that include the halt of the U.S. joint military drills with South Korea.