Accused US deserter pleads guilty

An American soldier who vanished from his Army unit in 1965 today pleaded guilty to deserting the military and fleeing to North Korea to avoid dangerous duty on the Korean peninsula and Vietnam.

Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins was given a 30-day jail sentence, but the Camp Zama judge in Japan recommended it be suspended. The suspension was to be ruled on by military authorities.

The plea – part of a bargain with US military officials – was a major step in unravelling a Cold War mystery that began when he disappeared from his post and defected to communist North Korea four decades ago.

The judge, Col. Denise Vowell, had recommended a suspended sentence of six-months in jail, but court-martial rules required her to abide by the pre-trial agreement setting the sentence at 30 days. She then recommended that also be suspended.

The prosecution had called the crimes “selfish and despicable,” and requested the brief jail term and a dishonourable discharge for the ailing 64-year-old, despite a maximum available sentence of life in prison.