TOKYO, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier accused of defecting to North Korea nearly 40 years ago said Wednesday he will soon report to a U.S. military base in Japan to face charges.
"I will soon voluntarily face the charges against me by the U.S. Army," Charles Robert Jenkins said in a statement issued through the Japanese government, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Jenkins said he would report to the U.S. base at Camp Zama, south of Tokyo, "to begin the process that will bring closure to my pending legal situation."
Jenkins has been in a Tokyo hospital since mid-July, when he arrived with his Japanese wife and their two daughters, Japanese officials said Jenkins was suffering from stress and fatigue and could not be turned over to U.S. officials in that condition.
The Army has charged him with four military crimes, including deserting in January 1965 to North Korea while he was serving in South Korea.
