Rep. McCaul: North Korea Prisoner Release Shows US Strength

North Korea's decision to release three American prisoners shows President Donald Trump's maximum pressure is working and that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is effective diplomatically, Rep. Michael McCaul said Thursday.

"The president is negotiating out of strength, not weakness, as we saw with the previous administration," the Texas Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "I know Mike Pompeo very well. He is a colleague of mine in the House and we traveled overseas several times to the Middle East. I've seen him in his diplomatic capacity."

McCaul added that Pompeo most likely pushed for the release by telling North Korean officials they had to show some "good faith" and that the first place to start would be to release the hostages to the United States.

Show co-host Bill Hemmer noted that one of the North Korean officials, upon the release, warned that the prisoners should "not make the same mistakes again," and if the United States thinks North Korea is making a conversion, it should not make that conclusion so quickly.

"I would urge caution," said McFaul. "They've been very deceptive. They're a brutal regime. We know Otto Warmbier died when he came back to the United States. We have to be really eyes open, wide open about who we are dealing with. They deceived the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, but I think President Trump and Mike Pompeo and [National Security Adviser John] Bolton, that team is a very good team. They're skeptical, which is a good thing to do when you go into these negotiations."

McCaul also discussed the growing tensions between Israel and Iran, noting that it's now known Iran is able to penetrate Israel's Iron Dome.

"They filed 20 missiles, and some of them actually got through the Iron Dome," Said McFaul. "Israel responded with a very strong retaliatory response against Iran in Syria. It's important to note Iran is in Syria and in Iraq and in Lebanon and that's where they've taken the money from the sanctions. "

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