(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Foreign Affairs Chief, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, expressed concerns about the situation of Travis King, a US soldier who fled to North Korea, suggesting that North Korea could use his capture as leverage and potentially bribe the Biden administration for concessions.
During an interview with Martha Raddatz, McCaul stated that King had been facing disciplinary charges and was supposed to return to the United States but instead crossed the border into North Korea while on a tour group.
When asked about Travis King’s situation, McCaul disclosed, “He was facing disciplinary charges and was going to fly back to the United States, but instead he did not board the plane, went with a tour group to the DMZ and then ran across the line. You and I have been there.”
McCaul explained the seriousness of the incident, saying, “That’s something you just don’t do, and now he was taken captive by North Koreans, and I’m sure he’s not being treated very well. I think it was a serious mistake on his part, and I hope we can get him back.”
Raddatz probed further into the potential complications arising from King’s voluntary entry into North Korea.
McCaul acknowledged the complexity of the situation, stating, “Correct. I mean, the question is, is he defecting? I think he was more running from his problems. That was the wrong place to go, but we see this with Russia, China, Iran. When they take an American, particularly a soldier captive, they exact a price for that, and that’s what I worry about.”
McCaul’s remarks come after former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden for severing diplomatic ties with North Korea.
In an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo, Trump said, “[President Biden] has told China and these other places that are hostile that we have no ammunition, by the way, you talk about classified documents, that’s worse than any document you could give.”
Trump further called Biden’s remarks ‘stupid.’ Specifically, he said, “So now these people are sitting back in China and other places that hate us, including North Korea, where I had a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un and kept our country save, they’re talking about the United States of America has no ammunition. Think of it. How stupid can somebody be to say that?”
