The strange saga of Charles Robert JenkinsAsia Times / Fri, Jun 4, 2004 9:13:39 PM
.... In August 1978, the then-19-year-old trainee nurse [Hitomi Soga] and her mother, Miyoshi, suddenly disappeared. The mother is still missing, but incredibly North Korea claims it did not abduct her.
It was revealed that Hitomi Soga met Jenkins when she made a request to learn English. It appears Jenkins was working as an English teacher, possibly coaching spies...It is not known how well the two communicated or in which language they conversed. ...
....In November 2002, Jenkins caused a storm of protest in Japan when he gave an interview to the Japanese weekly publication Shukan Kinyobi. He was quoted as praising Kim Jong-il....Jenkins said he had no idea about his wife's past. Jenkins said Soga did not tell him she had been abducted to North Korea...
The ongoing military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan make it impossible for President Bush to be lenient with Jenkins. Even though Jenkins deserted in 1965, the statue of limitation is 40 years....
....A Japanese Foreign Ministry official, who did not wish to be named, told Asia Times Online that Koizumi is even considering temporarily relocating the entire family to a third country, until the statute of limitations runs out on Jenkins in early 2005.
---See also: U.S. defector married to abductee feared arrest in Tokyo
