US deserter urged to plea bargain

Japan will urge accused US Army deserter Charles Jenkins to seek a plea bargain, reports said today, after doctors cleared him of any serious medical condition and chances increased that the United States would make an early request for his hand over.

Jenkins, who is wanted by the United States for allegedly abandoning his post in 1965 and defecting to North Korea, has won the support of the Japanese government because of his ties to Hitomi Soga, his Japanese wife.

Tokyo wants Jenkins to be able to settle in Japan with Soga and their two North Korean-born daughters. Washington has said it plans to pursue its case against Jenkins, who – if convicted of desertion – could face life in prison.

Japanese government officials have decided the best way to keep the family united is to convince Jenkins to enter a plea-bargain instead of fighting the charges, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unnamed sources.

He could get off more lightly if convinced to admit to the allegations and cooperate with US authorities, NHK said.

Kyodo News agency reported that Jenkins had indicated to government officials he was open to a plea-bargain.

Jenkins and Soga met in North Korea after she was kidnapped by Northern agents in 1978. Soga returned to Japan in 2002, but was separated from her family until Tokyo arranged a reunion in Indonesia earlier this month.

The Japanese government said the 64-year-old former army sergeant was suffering from the after effects of prostate surgery in North Korea and needed urgent care. It flew Jenkins to Japan last Sunday to be hospitalised immediately, bringing him within reach of US authorities for the first time in 39 years.

Washington has delayed seeking custody of Jenkins, citing humanitarian concerns about his health.

But those concerns dissipated yesterday when Japanese doctors treating him announced he was in relatively sound health.

Dr Atsushi Nagai, deputy chief of Tokyo Women’s Medical University, told reporters that Jenkins’ condition is not serious and would not require urgent medical care. He declined to specify Jenkins’ ailment, citing privacy laws.

Following the announcement by Jenkins’ doctors, US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker expressed his impatience, saying he hoped Jenkins “will face up to the reality that there has to be an effort to deal with the situation. It cannot go on indefinitely.”

An American official closely involved in the Jenkins matter said in Washington this week that the former soldier might improve his legal situation if he gave U.S. officials useful information.

Jenkins, who is believed to have taught English in North Korea, could provide one-of-a-kind intelligence about the secretive regime, including how it trains spies.