And airfield, near atlanta emergency doctor mike flick eager is embarking on a special mission destination. North korea, they said this is a medical evacuation. We need you to go and bring him out. A mission to retrieve u. S. Citizen on a warm beer last seen in public 14 months earlier. A prisoner of the regime of north korea warmongering between rivals, kim jong un and donald trump is at its peak. They will be met with fire and fear is why the world has never see the silent mission on a difficult route. We elected not to use south korea, china, or russia to help us plan a days later on a warm beer is back home, but hes fatally ill. Severe brain damage . Says the coroner, cause unknown. Was it torture . For me, as parents become pawns in a game played by president trump, who later announces that the north Korean Leader knew nothing about warm beer. All i can do is shake my head right today. I was right. When the state department sends emergency dr. Mike flick, eager to north korea. His plane of choice is still in africa. The carrier phoenix air often evacuated bola patients. But for this mission flooded your insists on the best plane and the best team. He doesnt even tell his family where hes headed. So i didnt tell them exactly where id been a till the mission was over because it was becoming more and more apparent that this was a special mission. I told him i was going to korea to pick up a patient. I did not say north korea, phoenix ayers headquarters, a 2nd team led by chief operator dent thompson, has to solve a logistical problem. The plane will not be allowed to refuel in pyongyang. Currently there are certain sanctions that are in place between the Us Government and the north korean government. And for us to pay for anything that we would have to get special permits, which we simply did not have time to do. On the morning of june 10th 2017, a saturday, the plane takes off on its mission, is joined by 2 male nurses and 2 u. S. State department representatives. With refueling stops in montana and alaska their flight takes them halfway around the globe to northern japan. And hopefully on to pyongyang, the outskirts of cincinnati, ohio, although warm beer grew up here in the suburb of wyoming. I had 1st, his parents dont answer our inquiries. They arent seeking the spotlight. The town has modest and affluent neighborhoods. Auto warm years father runs a medium sized business auto. The oldest of 3 children is the pride of both his family and his high school graduation. He holds the commencement address. His future is mapped out college in virginia, a scholarship, a planned semester abroad in hong kong, but 1st, a new years adventure, north korea ebooks through a chinese travel agency. Its slogan, we take you to destinations, your mother would rather you stay away from he joins an international group. They have a great time with an indelible mark on me was such a look, read lots of people who wrote on that. So a little absolutely, absolutely. Every year the agency touts their dazzling travel highlight in pyongyang. The alcohol flows freely. The tour guides make sure everyones in a good night ahead. Yeah, i got there all nights are long and pyongyangs only hotel for foreigners and autos group has fun too. It isnt clear whether they also took on the challenge of the forbidden 5th floor, but many tourists have done so in the past they insist it is the staff floor with hallways full of propaganda slogans. You know the hotel Surveillance Center is also located here. Tourists are usually just admonished to them, they act innocent and run off this new years eve. However, the cameras capture someone taking a poster from the wall. It is 1. 57 am and it is according to the trial on a warm beer. Instead of leaving north korea with the others on january 2nd, hes taken into custody and see how the simply other top of the show got circum away with a laugh. And lee said to him, oh, thats the last well have a sea of you on. Because we got on so well off also its just me. But of course there was a huge irony of my way. We thought she didnt know what was going to hop a book. That was the last time anyone us troops will have 2 months later, north koreas propaganda televises. A staged confession. I entirely begged government of the d. P. For your forgiveness. Please. I didnt made the worst mistake of my own life. But its never should have allowed myself to be alone for the United States administration to commit a crime in this country. A show trial with obviously coerced statements, perhaps in exchange for a pardon 16 days later, warm beer discovers that his hopes were in vain. He is publicly sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for subversive activities. His condition from this point on remains uncertain. Just shortly before takeoff. Dr. Mike flook eager is given the few details known about warm beers condition. I had one small written note, one paragraph about his condition, saying he was in a coma, that young french of hospital. Thats really all i knew except that he had been hospitalized for 15 months. Was looking girl worried about the threat of war. Not really. He says, i think i had felt that the relationship between north korea and the us had been bad for a while. You know, i thought if this door had opened to bring a warm beer back then and there in negotiations to east things a little bit. In fact, north koreas sudden diplomatic efforts surprises. The u. S. Negotiators. Mickey bergman is one of them. Since warm beer is arrested, he had been trying to gain access to him with the help of u. N. Contacts. Birdmen works together with bill richardson, the former governor of new mexico and former u. S. Ambassador to the u. N. Hardly any other team is as experienced in dealing with pyongyang as they are. In general, the only available the rick channel that we have of the people to represent the united nations. In this case, the individuals of people that know the governor from before they know me from before. So thats of the record channel. But at the end of the day, they are not decision makers. And if you want to get to a deal, when you want to get to an understanding, you have to be there in person. So the 1st priority is ok. How do we get ourselves invited to north korea to make sure that we can talk to the people who can make decisions about this . It was different in that you knew that auto warm beer by the North Koreans was considered Something Special because he was from the midwest. He was an attractive young man and he was an allamerican. Boy. You knew this one was special because it got a lot of t. V. Coverage from north korea. The trial where the young man was in trauma. He was very upset and he was carried around and you knew that this was a very sensitive time and United States north korea relations. So the North Koreans you knew early on would use them as a bargaining chip to get Something Back from the United States. They always use Political Prisoners as bargaining chips. They want something in return. Would that be typical that the u. S. Even made suffered physical talk show of physical violence. The North Koreans are very tough on interrogations and their prisons are not ideal. Sometimes they make these Political Prisoners work in the fields so labor is involved. Do they specifically torture . I dont have any evidence that they do. Did they treat the prisoners . Well, no. I think where the North Koreans fall short is just an International Standard of allowing consular visits. Sometimes they do, sometimes they dont. It depends on the prize of the prisoner that they hope they want to dramatize it as much as they can. Insiders call these contacts between north koreas u. N. Representatives and people like richards the new york channel. For a long time. Its been the only connection between the 2 countries here at the palm restaurant. It is kept alive with steak and lobster over meetings that take place every few weeks. Mickey bergman believes hes close to a breakthrough. Hes told to come to pyongyang. We got the invitation. And when i went there, even on the plane on the way, i did have that fantasy in, in my mind, that im coming back with photos, swedish diplomats also pressure pyongyang. There is a meeting of diplomats and all slow, but no progress is made. I was told that look, dont do, dont be disparaged. Theres a saying in korea that it takes a felon, an axe to bring down the tree. And my response was, i hope i dont need to come back again. You know, however, more times than all to get it happen. But i get the message. The camera jeems seems to buy time, keen to use warm beer as an asset. Kim wont negotiate until he feels protected by his new nuclear weapons. At the museum at the u. N. General assembly, north koreas delegation ignores both the threats and the insults made by the newly elected us president. Rocket man is on a Suicide Mission for himself and for his regime. North korea is still studying Donald Trumps behavior waiting for new insights. The Obama Administration and north korean relationship was not good. The policy was strategic patience, more sanctions, more sanctions, the North Koreans. They werent happy with that obviously. And they saw in a new administration, well maybe, you know, we show that were ready to deal and auto warm beer is, is the closest think that to a concession but what was it that convinced beyond yang to allow ailing on a warm beer to be evacuated does the regime believe america will be grateful or is warm beer already so weak that they just dont want him to die as their prisoner asks himself the same questions until his crew suffers the 1st setback. When they reach the porro, that evening, their flight seems doomed. The local Flight Control center doesnt have the information it needs. The plane is grounded. They told me that the japanese air Traffic Control because there was no relationship with north korea, did not want to let us fly directly to north korea. That what they would have to send us to another route to a country that they did have a relationship with. And that at that point we would fly in and call back up to the u. S. Department of state and got a very high level person on the phone. And i said, heres a situation unless you can intercede and resolve this. This trip is over. After 9 time crisis calls with Government Officials, japans Prime Minister eventually gives the go ahead. The next morning, look at her as a plane receives clearance to fly from sapporo to pyongyang, a flight route that doesnt officially exist. When the plane was probably 100, miles east of the north korean ballenger e. , the japanese air Traffic Controller said were now terminating served service. North korea is in front of you have a nice day and turned off the radio. The Pyongyang Airport contacts the plane by radio hours later on the ground team is escorted to the building where warm beer has been hospitalized. For months we were dropped off at the front door of the hospital and the company down a hallway up the stairs. And when we entered the room, there were 2 doctors and 4 nurses. One was the chief of staff of the hospital and one was the doctor who had been charge of autos care during the time he had been in the hospital. And so they said you can examine my 1st impression was hes not in a coma. He, he was awake, he had his eyes open. He was not responsive, purposefully responsive, but he was reactive to noise, touch. So out and the doctors and nurses confirm that examines warm beer asks the doctors more questions. There was a standard physical exam. I listened to his heart and lungs, checked his eyes, pupils did a neurologic exam as best i could. I had wife elvis enough time to examine, thats when i started asking questions. They said, oh lets, lets go out to the finish. Your exam then will go taught you must have and also on your mind what happened to make him to a condition. Right . Absolutely. What did you think . Well, the North Koreans had 2 possible explanations. One was botulism poisoning which they cannot test for. They said he had eaten a pork meal as he the day went into prison. Could he have had botulism poisoning which can cause you to stop breathing, but it would not happen that quickly. In general, was all the other was that they had given him to sedatives on the night he went in because he was very agitated. And that either he had a bad reaction or they gave him too much that they said that themselves, did you have a feeling in north korea that the doctors were hiding something from you . I certainly was looking for signs of torture. Could, could this be torture . And what i concluded from my physical exam was that i could not see any signs of torture. I had the feeling they were, they were forthcoming with their information. They didnt seem that they were hiding anything. And we examined all of his skin and found no evidence of any skin breakdown. Hospitalisation that winks esprit remarkable. So that to me, indicated that he got good. Kerry got attentive care. And yeah, thats an indicator that you have in mind that parents are waiting, not knowing that something didnt happen to all in the whole time. The whole time we were there since warm be, as parents still wont talk to us, we talk to people, they have been more open with a 2 hours drive from new york. We meet one of them. The warm beers had turned to him for help early on. A former diplomat with korean experience. We discuss what strategic patience means for the families. Should they remain silent to keep from endangering negotiations or not. There. During many, many hours of rather emotional conversations that we had on the phone. I began to hear this argument from them and i pushed back against that. And i gave them evidence that there were efforts being made not just efforts by me and other civilians, but people in the government. But i also made the point to them that something was different about the way that autos case was being handled. And it made the normal diplomatic intervention that you would expect to work with the North Koreans. It made that ineffective the one bears have even stopped talking to auto school. Month after month goes by with no sign of life from their son. Nobody knows that in faraway north korea. He was seen from the outset as a prisoner of war with no access to diplomats following trumps inauguration parents speak out and accuse the Obama Administration of failure. Although they met with his secretary of state john kerry several times they confide in trumps Favorite Network sox news, easy prey for their hosts, ongoing partisan crusade against obamas democrats. And john kerry was secretary of state at the time you just picked him. When that was said and what was the outcome of that nice guy. Nice person. You in any way . Totally exasperated and overwhelmed with north korea. Totally. Did he help you in anyone . No, absolutely not. Did anyone in the state Department Help you in any way . No, absolutely. Not the 1st thing after i got the phone call was to teach you read the state department, log on. You know, were going to write korea before you let him go out and which socialist state department. So that to me other words, many knowing you for the kidnapping and imprisonment of your son was your fault. That was the message from the state department that they acted like that we were ignorant. They stick late for letting him go. We feel we should arrange judge to you and blamed you for your sons kidnapping by the north korean government. Its like it was your fault. Thats what you got when you reach out to u. S. Government for help. And they asked us to stay quiet because they said its bad. Our for everyone involved, better for the bureaucrats because nobody knows how little theyre doing when nobody talks about it to give a message for this new state department for secretary killers. And would you like him to do you sure. Id like to work with him to bring out how he can make a difference. Here. Hes a do or maybe disrespectful to ask for that president trump. I ask you, bring my son. If you can make a difference here, i pray this is rob, thanks a lot for joining us. One thing i know for sure has not been apparent at last the kids, and thats something that i was talking to and soon there wont be earth while it is that those things take time. Doesnt mean that you need to sit back and trust that the government is doing everything for you because the government has complex of interests. But it takes time and on average, north korea, its between a year and a half in 2 years. And in all of the scenarios that ive ever imagined working on this and we worked on it for about 18 months, i always imagine that it does get resolved and does come home. And i had never imagined all this time the scenario of what actually ended up happening. What upset me was that it took them a year to admit that he was in a coma. They never told us that the north korean contacts we had said that they did know either that he was in a coma. Thats possible. He was control the young man auto by the security services, and they dont communicate with each other. This is a country of enormous secrecy, only the top, only the top echelon knows whats going on and they decide who gets the information within their own government. The north korean doctors hand over their c. T. Scans of warm beers brain to dr. Flickinger. He writes a report, but still warm beer is a prisoner. The door opens and here comes the judge in a judges robe. He goes to that same spot i was in and he conducted a little 10 minute Court Hearing to commute to warm beer sense. He was still a prisoner, he had to have an official hearing to release him. And then at that point they brought in all those belongings and they wanted us to go through a piece by piece and check it off. We said, just give us his passport, his wallet, just give us everything. On june 13th, 2017, on a warm beer. Finally, he leaves north korea. The vibration noise of the airplane was, was really difficult for him and it made him stiffen almost as if he were having a compulsion. So we gave small doses of the standard, those sedating drugs to 2 nurses. And i sai