House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul warns of North Korea's potential demands as the United States is trying to secure the release of Travis King.
King has come under the spotlight after he fled the border from South Korea last week and was arrested by North Korean authorities. McCaul has recently accused the soldier not of defecting but of running away from his problems.
Michael McCaul on Travis King Detention
The situation comes as the American individual was pending discipline in the US following detention in South Korea for nearly two months because of a local altercation. The Texas Republican added that North Korea was the wrong place for King to go amid the issue.
McCaul added that the decision was even more problematic because North Korea, similar to other global superpowers, including China, Iran, and Russia, exact a price for when other countries seek the release of one of their people, as per ABC News.
American officials have also said that the 23-year-old soldier, an Army private 2nd class, was returning to the US early last week before being detained in South Korea. Instead, he left the airport in Seoul, joined a tour group visiting the border between the North and South, and just ran across.
King was also scheduled to fly back to Texas to face a "pending administrative separation actions for foreign conviction." He was recently released from a 47-day South Korean detention facility stay.
Since the American soldier entered North Korea, with whom the US does not have formal relations, authorities from the country have not responded to inquiries about his status. United States President Joe Biden's administration says it continues pushing for communication.
McCaul also assumed that North Korean authorities are not treating King well while in detention in the country. United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the 23-year-old soldier crossed the demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the border of the two Koreas "willfully and without authorization, " according to the New York Post.
Running Away From His Problems
King's detention comes as the relationship between the US and North Korea is shaken after the latter conducted a cruise-missile firing spree on Saturday. The situation came as North Korea publicly disapproved of a US nuclear submarine docked in South Korea.
McCaul referenced the sub-docking in a statement, saying it was a "projection of strength that we need right now to deter aggression." He added that it was made in response to aggression seen by China and North Korea.
One tourist from New Zealand who was a member of King's tour group, Sarah Leslie, said that they were near the end of the tour and they were milling around. She noted that South Korean and US soldiers were watching them while those from North Korea appeared to have been inside a building.
But then she said she noticed a man suddenly "running what looked like full gas towards the North Korean side." Soldiers then ordered the rest of the group to head inside and tried to chase down King but could not get to him in time, said NBC News.
