Tonight, our 20 20 cameras at the tour group that arranging those risky north korean trips. Can we talk to you guys . No. Are you pushing me out . Why would you take people into a place that you know is so dangerous . Bob woodruff takes us inside a forbidden world. Right across the river is north korea, and it is absolutely dark. The secret talks for Otto Warmbiers release. What really happened in those 17 months of captivity . I have to tell you something publicly. Vent really said and what about that mysterious offlimits fifth floor in Otto Warmbiers hotel . Every single day, i asked if i could see the place where hes alleged to have taken down that poster. Dont, the friends who knew him best. Their question their outrage and their goodbyes. Thats a video that should be shown. You can see his smiling from ear to ear. Thats otto. Good evening, im david muir. Elizabeth is back next week. Tonight, right here, the part of the story you havent heard. The extraordinary loss for a mother and father who had not seen their son in 17 months. Returned to their from north korea with severe brain damage. This evening, that breaking headline out of north korea. Theyre now saying they did not hurt him. In fact, they claim that theyre the victim. Tonight, bob woodruff who has reported from north korea so many times, with what we now know about this extraordinary case, as he pieces together the mystery. Reporter after a long, heartrending journey home, 22yearold Otto Warmbier was laid to rest. Thousands of loved ones honoring a young man whose promise seemed limitless. Mourners wiping away tears, as the hearse wound its way through town to the cemetery. His friends now speaking out for the first time. To now have the opportunity to explain what type of a guy he was, and what he meant to us, each one of us, were just really grateful for that, because he was just the best guy. Reporter and on display at the funeral, the quiet testimonies of ottos belongings, shoes, his wallet, his passport, his jacket. Relics of a journey that began with hope and ended in horror. I net down by his side and i hugged him and i told him i missed him and i was so glad that he made it home. Its just not acceptable and unthinkable. Its a nightmare, really. Reporter december 29th, 2015. Otto warmbier was aboard an old soviet jet, crossing into north korean air space. Ive made that trip, too, eight times, in fact, where the onboard announcements welcome you to a nation state which is also a state of mind. Pyongyang is the capital of the juche korea, the might of korea is well known to the world. Reporter immediately otto and his travel group hit the ground running, going on a guided tour of pyongyang, the countrys capital. On billboards everywhere, former leader leaders. Agustin feliciano made a similar trip two months before otto. We would see normal North KoreansWalking Around on the street, people going to work, coming home from work, soldiers going to and from. Reporter its a city teeming with military. The worlds fourth largest army. Children everywhere, walking in formation, singing praise for their nation. There would be a couple times when we would be, like, is that staged . Reporter like the glorious little children at the pyongyang nursery school. And what are they singing . This is the song of general kim ilsu ilsung. As we watch, we are struck by the uniform smiles, the sin cronized movements. This might not be the average tourists idea of a perfect vacation, but Otto Warmbier wasnt the average tourist. He just loved traveling in general. He just had this sense of curiosity about him. He was never afraid of anything. Reporter ottos hometown is the small cincinnati suburb of wyoming, ohio. All american, affluent, known for its top notch schools and tidy treelined streets. My colleague linzie janis went to visit. Were a close community. A tight knit community . A tight knit community. We look at the warm beibiers as part of our family. Reporter the family, ottos mom cindy, his dad fred, who owns a Metal Finishing company and his two younger siblings, austin and greta. Otto, a prom king and soccer star, grew up with this group of high school friends, spending hours together in this basement hangout. And you guys spent a lot of time here with otto . Every weekend probably. Yeah. He had that special ability to be able to make you feel like you were the only person in the room. He was charismatic . Oh, my gosh. Yes. Funny . Hilarious. Hes so intelligent, but he never made you feel stupid. Which was amazing. He never bragged. Oh, my god. He would get the highest on every test and he would never tell anybody. Reporter todd siler was ottos favorite teacher. I thought he was putting me on, the first month of class. I thought, this guys so enthusiastic, he really cant be this excited about u. S. History. But otto was a thinking. Reporter otto graduated second in his class and was selected to give a speech at graduation. He showed love to his small town roots, but seemed ready to explore. This is our last day together as wyoming high schools class of 2013. Tomorrow morning, we will all belong to another class, another job or another city. No matter where we go or what we do, though, we will always have this group here. Reporter after heading off to the university of virginia, otto hopscotched the globe, visiting cuba, israel and ecuador. During his junior year, he embarked on a Study Program in asia. Ottos father would later show fox news Tucker Carlson what he had packed for his trip. Hes got his uva notebook. Yeah, his passport. This was otto. Most o ts stuff wld have been bought at a thrift store. He loved that. Hes got a taste for zany shirts. He does. And he looked good in them. Reporter but then, otto made a fateful discovery. One which led to a fateful decision. He found a travel group called young pioneer tours based in china and specializing in tours to north korea. In this promotional video, a tour guide describes the journey. North korea is a tenminute walk that way. Here we are in pyongyang now. There seems to be an atmosphere on Fun Associated with this trip, lets go to north korea on a lark. Reporter anna fifield is the washington posts tokyo bureau chief. She says Young Pioneers tapped into the adventurous wanderlust of people like otto. Their slogan is tours to destinations your mother doesnt want you to go to. So they are really playing up the whole idea this is off the beaten track. Reporter ottos plan was a fiveday trip, costing more than 1,000, billed as the new years party tour. An odd name for a trip into a rogue nation nicknamed the hermit kingdom. Its the ultimate forbidden country left in the world. Its sort of the forbidden fruit. So, i think thats thats the cause for excitement for why people want to visit. Do you guys remember the first time he said, hey, i want to go to north korea . I was excited for him. Hes otto. Another otto thing to do. Just go wherever, you know . Just to craziest place you could think of. Reporter after touching down in pyongyang with the Young Pioneers, ottos itinerary scheduled like clockwork. On day two, his group of about two dozen traveled two hours to kaesong and the demilitarized zone. From there, it was onto sariwon city, to interact with locals. Andrew byrne took the Young Pioneers tour to north korea just this spring. He says, before you go, they tell you the rules to be followed. They brief you on how to behave, what not to do. Whats expected of you. Theres no room for making fun of the kims or taking a photo thats not polite of kim ilsung or kim jongil. Reporter and for tourists, there are always minders. They move you through attraction after attraction very quickly. Its like checking off boxes. Reporter but otto seemed to be soaking it all in. Ready . All right. Ready to throw it at me . Reporter even having a snowball fight with local north korean kids. How would you describe the otto in that footage . Joyful. Joyful. Hes having fun. He was doing what he always did. And what he was best at. Thats otto. Reporter so far, the north korea trip is everything otto had dreamed of. But in pyongyang, there are places you just dont go. And one of them was right here. The mysterious fifth floor of ottos hotel. We were kind of given full reign of the hotel, except for one floor. The elevator skipped floor number five. One, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. So, we were told, dont even try to get to the fifth floor. Reporter and those acced of trespassing learn the hard way. You can check out any time you look, but you can never leave. Stay with us. Ason that these two should not be wed, speak now. coughs so sorry. Oh no. 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Young pioneer tours approach to appeal to younger people is very much one of, lets go have fun in north korea, drink some north korean beer. Reporter and based on photos on instagram, it appears the founder of young pioneer tours, gareth johnson, likes to chug. And on his arm, a version of the north korean symbol. Its fine for vacationers to throw back a couple, but reportedly those on the trip with otto say the tour guides were also indulging. A regular pattern, stone fish says. The problems have been with young pioneer is some sort of recklessness, not enough paying attention to the tourists theyre supposed to protect. Reporter others tourists have said the guides were professional. The hotel where otto stayed, though typically reserved for Foreign Government officials, its located on an island, isolating most visitors. But as rowan, a manager at Young Pioneers, shows in this youtube video, there is plenty to do. Were going to show you all the facilities and everything this hotel has to offer for all the tourists that come into pyongyang in north korea. Lets go. 25 meter lap pool, its heated. Reporter the swimming pool, Bowling Alley two lanes have recently been renovated. Reporter and a mini mart, to stock up on those travel necessities. Water, more beer, coffee, korean lollies. Reporter but conspicuously missing from this video, the fifth floor. In fact, its kind of missing altogether. We were kind of given full reign of the hotel, except for one floor. The elevator skipped number five. One, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. So, we were told, dont even try to get to the fifth floor. Rorter we are told the fifth floor is for staff only. Offlimits to guests. What actually happens there is the source of rumors, most of them unnerving. Its where they keep the surveillance equipment, where they use to bug all of the rooms. It was a floor unlike any other floor in that hotel. So, this is a video of our excursion to the fifth floor. Reporter travel blogger calvin sun didnt want to speculate. He wanted to see it. So, in 2011, he and some friends snuck onto the fifth floor serious fifth floor. Reporter and videotaped it. What goes on here, nobody knows. The floor you go onto from four to five has paintings. Reporter its not artwork but rather propaganda on the wall. Military first. Powerful nation, reads one. But perhaps the most disturbing is this, featuring a bomb with usa on it. Revenge hundred times, a thound times, to american wolves. Calvin and h friends had n trouble on the fifth floor that night, but others might not be so lucky. New years eve, 2015. Olt toe, he otto, headed to kim ilsung square for fireworks. We see this scene in 2016, in a youtube video. Were here in kim ilsung square and it is absolutely packed with people. Happy new year from pyongyang they were out in this big square. Just seemed like a fun, festive atmosphere. Reporter on the eye tent rare for the next morning, a chopper tour of pyongyang. Probably over the same spot eye saw from the air last year. I cant tell exactly how old this helicopter is, but its working. And later he was posing for pictures at the grand monument. This one posted on twitter. And these others obtained exclusively by dailymail. Com. Look at how the strapping, allamerican towering over the local north korean women, seemingly a fitting finale to his adventure in north korea. At the airport, me and otto were the last two through security. And he simply had a tap on the shoulder. Reporter Danny Gratton was ottos roomate during the trip. Two guards took him away, and i sort of laughingly said to him, thats the last well ever see of you. And because we got on so well, otto turned around and just chuckled at me. Reporter gratton says that was last time anyone saw otto. The tour group was told he was sick and needed treatment, so they left without him. The company says they made numerous attempts to get information about otto, but for nearly three weeks, no word publicly, until the dreaded news breaks. Breaking news overnight. An American College he was arrested while perpetrating a hostile act. They are not saying anymore than that. To hear your friends name on National Television and really you dont really ever get accustomed to that. Otto warmbier was charged with hostile acts against the state, which is a kind of catchall charge that north korea levels against people who have done anything. Reporter and what exactly did otto do . The North Koreans point to this surveillance video. They say thats otto on that infamous forbidden fifth floor of the yanggakdo hotel, attempting to steal one of those propaganda posters. But the video is so grainy, nobody really knows if its him. Its unprecedented to do somethingle to a poster with t dear leader on it . Its punishment. Reporter the following month, he was marched in front of tv cameras and made his socalled confession. I understand the severity of my crime and i have no idea what sort of penalty i may face. The confession that Otto Warmbier gave before the cameras early last year, it seemed scripted for him. I never should have allowed myself to be allured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country. He admitted to a really bizarre range of things, like belonging to a secret society, stealing this poster on orderers from somebody in a church. Its incredibly clear that it was a performance. Please. I have made the worst mistake of my life. Reporter for his friends, watching it back home in america, the only thing real were his tears. Another month passed and otto appeared in a north korean court. This time, to learn his fate. North korea runs these kind of sham trials. Yes, it was less than one hour, otto had no defense, you know, he was guilty before he went into this. Please think of my family. I am the oldest son in my family. Reporter 21yearold Otto Warmbier is sentenced to 15 years in prison, hard labor. The adventurous and curious College Student who came to north korea to have fun, throwing snowballs with kids, now in handcuffs, head down. When we come back, what is life like in a north korean prison . This american knows and lived to tell. They said, well simply cut off your head and bury you somewhere an no one will find you. Reporter next. If y want to be a world traveler, start by. Ooh, is that a galaxy s8 . Handsome screen. Anyway, you wanna pack that, your passport and. Oh ok, were moving fast. To get around the city take the city bus. Thats not a bus. Youll need a tour guide. Apparently not. Dont forget a big camera. Or that phone will work. Traveling by yourself can be lonely. And. Youve already made friends. Huh. Youre fancy. Shopping can be difficult if you dont know the language. Oh never mind, your camera speaks spanish hold up. Is that a king . where are you . oh, your camera knows that too. Ok, i guess you have the world