McCaul: Travis King made ‘serious mistake’ by crossing North Korea border

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said Sunday he thinks U.S. Army Pvt. Travis King made a “serious mistake” by crossing the border into North Korea and expressed concerns about the treatment King has received and about how difficult it will be to secure his release.

“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 [Demilitarized Zone] and then ran across the line,” McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”

“That’s something you just don’t do. And now he was taken captive by North Koreans. And I’m sure that 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,” McCaul continued.

King, 23, became the first American in five years to be detained by North Korea, when he was visiting the border with South Korea as a civilian on a tour. King had been charged with assault in South Korea, and, his family said this past week, King might have felt overwhelmed by the legal trouble he faced. 

McCaul acknowledged in his interview Sunday that the fact that he crossed the border voluntarily could complicate negotiations to secure his return. 

“Correct,” he said, when Raddatz asked about the complications, noting there might be questions such as, “Is he defecting.”

“I think he was running from his problems. That was the wrong place to go,” McCaul continued. “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 also said he supported the move to dock the nuclear-armed U.S. submarine in South Korea, saying, “It’s a projection of strength that we need right now to deter aggression.”