Free Republic

TOKYO -- Tokyo hopes to reach a solution with Washington soon in the case of former U.S. soldier Charles Jenkins, Japan's foreign minister said Sunday, amid reports a plea-bargain was in the works. Jenkins, who is undergoing tests at a Tokyo hospital, is wanted by the Army for allegedly abandoning his South Korean post in 1965 and defecting to North Korea. Legally the United States can take custody of Jenkins in Japan, but Washington has refrained from doing so, citing concerns about his health. "Between the United States and Japan, there is no problem which cannot be resolved through dialogue,"...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An alleged U.S. Army deserter who fled to North Korea 40 years ago said he wants his reunited family to remain together but he has yet to say where they would live, a Japanese official said Sunday. Meanwhile, the family of North Carolina native Charles Robert Jenkins has reportedly asked President Bush to pardon the former sergeant, who is still wanted on desertion charges. Jenkins and his two daughters had an emotional reunion with his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, at Jakarta's international airport on Friday before going to a five-star hotel in central Jakarta. The family...