TOKYO, July 25 (UPI) -- Japananese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Sunday she's confident the case of U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins could be resolved.
"There are no bilateral issues that cannot be resolved between Japan and the United States," she said during a TV interview aired by the Japan Broadcasting Corp. "We have a relationship of (strong) mutual trust."
The Kyodo News Service reported U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker has suggested a plea bargain. Japanese government sources have broached the subject with Jenkins and it's suggested he might agree with such a plan.
Jenkins, who crossed the border between North and South Korea in 1965 while serving in the U.S. Army near the demilitarized zone, was recently reunited his Japanese wife in Tokyo. Jenkins and his wife met in North Korea after she was abducted by the North Koreans.
He faces charges from the United States for desertion, aiding the enemy, encouraging disloyalty, and soliciting other service members to desert.
Jenkins is currently in a Japanese hospital being treated for severe stress.
