Japan notified Jenkins wanted in US on desertion charges: Pentagon spokesman

WASHINGTON (AFP) Jul 13, 2004
The United States has notified Japan that a US Army sergeant who allegedly defected to North Korea nearly 40 years ago was still wanted on charges of desertion, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.

Charles Robert Jenkins, 64, who left North Korea last week for a reunion with his Japanese wife in Indonesia has expressed a desire to move to Japan, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.

"We have notified the government of Japan that Sergeant Jenkins has been charged with desertion," said Lieutenant Commander Flex Plexico.

"We consider the charges serious, and the best course of action is to resolve in the matter in accordance with the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice)," he said.

Plexico said the charges against Jenkins, who disappeared on patrol in Korea in 1965, have been "in abeyance" and there is no statute of limitations on desertion charges.

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