Trump denies paying North Korea for Warmbier treatment

President Trump has denied paying North Korea money for the medical care of comatose US student Otto Warmbier.

Warmbier was jailed in North Korea in 2015 during an organised tour and died after being returned to the US in a coma after 17 months in detention.

Earlier reports said that the US had been billed $2m (£1.5m) for the student's medical care.

North Korea had allegedly demanded the bill be paid before he was allowed to return home.

Mr Trump denied the claim on Twitter on Friday. He wrote: "No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else."

On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to comment on the claim. In a statement to CBS, she said: "We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration."

The main US representative sent to retrieve Warmbier signed a pledge to pay the medical bill on the orders of President Trump, the Washington Post newspaper said, citing two people familiar with the situation.