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US army deserter asks to see lawyer
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-26 13:51 A former U.S. Army sergeant accused of deserting
to North Korea and now in Japan receiving medical treatment has asked to
speak to a U.S. military lawyer, a spokesman for the U.S. military forces in
Japan said on Monday. But the spokesman said he was unable to comment on
speculation that this was a first step toward Jenkins seeking a plea bargain
concerning charges that he deserted in 1965.
Former US army sergeant Charles
Jenkins, accused of deserting to North Korea in 1965, uses a cane as
he walks to a bus with his wife, former abductee by North Korea Hitomi
Soga, as they arrive at Tokyo's Haneda airport July 18, 2004.
[Reuters] | Jenkins, 64, arrived in Japan for medical care on July 18 with his Japanese
wife, Hitomi Soga, and their two daughters after the family was reunited in
Jakarta on July 9.
Washington has said it had the right
to seek Jenkins' custody so he can face court martial on desertion and other
charges, but has put off doing so while Jenkins underwent health tests.
"He's basically requested to speak with a military lawyer and we've passed,
through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some information about the U.S.
military area defense counsel system," said Col. Victor Warzinski, public
affairs director for U.S. Forces Japan.
Tokyo has asked that Jenkins be given special consideration, and speculation
has been mounting that he may seek to plea-bargain as a way to resolve the
impasse.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said on Sunday that she was
confident that Japan and the United States could work out a solution over
Jenkins' fate.
Jenkins met Soga after she was abducted by North Korean agents in 1978. Soga
returned to Japan with four other abductees in 2002 but had to leave her husband
and two daughters behind.
Soga wants her family to be able to live together in her homeland, and her
plight has touched many Japanese hearts.
Alleged US army defector who lived
in North Korea for decades, Charles Robert Jenkins (R), his Japanese wife
Hitomi Soga (L) and his two daughters Brenda (2nd R) and Mika. The US said
it will seek legal custody of Jenkins if he goes to Japan.
[AFP]
| "I don't think there are any bilateral issues that can't be resolved by Japan
and the United States," Kawaguchi said during an appearance on public
broadcaster NHK. "I think it's desirable to hold talks and resolve it as soon as
possible."
STILL IN HOSPITAL
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker has been quoted by Japanese media as
suggesting a plea bargain would be one way to resolve the standoff, but another
U.S. official late last week denied that was a likely outcome.
"No one I know suggests there is a bargain ... No suggestion about it," Kyodo
news agency quoted Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless as saying in
Washington on Friday.
Washington says Jenkins slipped into
North Korea one January night in 1965 and joined Pyongyang's propaganda machine.
His American relatives say there is no proof Jenkins defected and insist he
was kidnapped and brainwashed by North Korea.
U.S. President Bush is thought reluctant to give Jenkins special
treatment while U.S. soldiers are fighting in Iraq and ahead of the U.S.
presidential election in November.
But Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has spent considerable
political capital to send Japanese troops on a non-combat mission to Iraq,
partly at Washington's nudging.
A Japanese doctor treating Jenkins said on Friday that his health had
improved since he arrived in Tokyo and that initial tests had not found any
serious illness.
But the doctor said Jenkins needed more tests to rule out a major illness and
should stay in hospital to recover from stress.
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