US deserter arrives in Japan
2004-07-18 11:18
Tokyo - Accused US Army deserter Charles Jenkins and his family arrived on Sunday in Japan, where he risks US prosecution on charges he defected to North Korea in the 1960s.
Jenkins was to be hospitalised in Tokyo later on Sunday for abdominal troubles following an operation in North Korea. The family arrived from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they were reunited last week for the first time in about two years.
The Japanese government has pushed for US leniency for the North Carolina native, who met his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, in North Korea after she was kidnapped from Japan in 1978 by communist agents.
Soga was allowed to return to Japan in 2002, but Jenkins and their two daughters stayed behind in the reclusive nation for fear of US prosecution. American officials, however, have suggested they will allow him to be treated before seeking custody.
- AP