The bill was handed to Joseph Yun, the former State Department Special Representative for North Korea who traveled to Pyongyang in June 2017 to bring Warmbier home, according to the source.
Warmbier was in a comatose state at the time of his release from North Korean custody and died a few days after returning to the United States.
Yun, who had orders from President Donald Trump to bring Warmbier home, signed the bill after informing then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about it. Tillerson then told Trump about the bill, according to the source.
It is unclear if any portion of that bill has been paid to date but no transactions had been made by the beginning of 2018, the source said.
Reached by CNN on Thursday, Yun said he could not confirm the report because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
"I cannot confirm that," Yun said. "These are diplomatic exchanges and negotiations that I do not confirm."
"We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a written response to CNN.
The State Department declined to comment and referred to Sanders' response.
The Washington Post was first to report that North Korea presented Yun with the invoice.
Warmbier was detained by North Korean officials in January 2016 while attempting to return to the US from a tour of the country. He was returned to his family "with severe brain damage and in a nonresponsive state" on June 13, 2017, and died six days later.
Fred Warmbier, Otto's father, told the Washington Post he had no previous knowledge of the bill, but characterized it as "ransom" for his deceased son.
The Warmbier family rebuked Trump last month for siding with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after he denied knowledge of their son's maltreatment during his imprisonment during their second summit in Vietnam.
"We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Thank you," Fred and Cindy Warmbier, Otto's parents, said in a statement provided to CNN.
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