WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The United States will ask Japan for custody of accused Army deserter Charles Jenkins at the appropriate time, the State Department said Thursday.
Jenkins is in Indonesia awaiting transfer to Japan for emergency medical treatment. He disappeared from his U.S. Army unit near the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean peninsula in 1965 and has lived in North Korea ever since. Jenkins, a sergeant at the time of his disappearance, is in Jakarta for a reunion with his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, who was kidnapped by North Korea in 1978.
"Our view is that Mr. Jenkins is a deserter from the U.S. Army," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "He's been charged with extremely serious offenses."
In Japan, Jenkins is subject to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement and falls under the authority of the U.S. military.
We intend to request custody when we have the legal opportunity to do so," Boucher said.
In Tokyo, Ambassador Howard Baker said the United States was "sympathetic" to Jenkins' health problems.
