Jenkins threatens to return to North Korea

[Steve Bildermann]

..at least he will do as soon as he finds out where 'his wife' is planning on them living. Sado Island is great for a one day visit but I wouldn't want to live there (ironically it's where prisoners were sent to dig in the gold mine)

Japanese Isle May Be Home for Accused U.S. Deserter

Reuters report

MANO, SADO ISLAND, Japan (Reuters) - The shop where 19-year-old Hitomi Soga bought groceries one August evening still stands on the lonely road where she and her mother were kidnapped 26 years ago by North Korean agents.

When the two women vanished from their home town on Sado Island in northern Japan in 1978, no one dreamed they had been snatched and taken by boat to the reclusive communist state.

The family is now living on a U.S. Army base west of Tokyo where Jenkins turned himself in this month while they wait for his case to be resolved.

"It was Hitomi's wish from the start for them all to live here in Sado," said Wakabayashi, speaking at the Mano Library where she works.

"We want to do whatever we can to make her dream come true."

[Taro Toporific]

Accused US Deserter Jenkins Faces Nov. 3 Court Martial
Reuters - Oct 7
TOKYO (Reuters) - The court martial of U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins, who last month surrendered to U.S. military authorities in Japan to face charges that he deserted to North Korea four decades ago, is scheduled to begin on Nov. 3...
In an article published Thursday, the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine said a plea bargain deal appeared to have been clinched, but U.S. military spokesmen in Japan have declined to comment on any pre-trial agreement.
Annette Eddie-Callagain, an American lawyer with experience in military trials in Japan, said the content of any plea bargain would normally not be revealed until the end of the trial.
If Jenkins stands trial before a judge rather than a judge and jury, the judge will ask if there is any agreement, she said.
"We'll know there is an agreement, but not the content, on the day of the trial," she said.

[katakori]

The shop where 19-year-old Hitomi Soga (...) where she and her mother were kidnapped 26 years ago

edit: oh, ok, i get it. strange wording though...

[Taro Toporific]

strange ...

Via the NK Zone news site quoting the the Wall Street Journal
http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone/category/defectors/index.php

...Legal analysts say the referral of charges without a pretrial hearing is a strong indication of the existence of a pretrial agreement that would involve a reduced sentence for Sgt. Jenkins in exchange for his cooperation.
"What is probably happening is that [the waiver of a pretrial hearing] is part of a pretrial agreement that has been negotiated and signed," says military attorney Patrick McLain. A retired marine major and military judge, Mr. McLain adds that he is "willing to bet" the plea bargain will excuse Sgt. Jenkins from a jail term. Nevertheless, any pretrial deal must be reviewed by the military court, and until then it could unravel.

Also in the article is this find:
In a little-noticed reference in an interview published in November 2002, Sgt. Jenkins told the Japanese weekly, Syukan Kin'yobi, that he "walked" into North Korea with the intention of avoiding Vietnam service.
"I served in the army, but when I was ordered to go to the Vietnam War, I refused," Sgt. Jenkins told the magazine. "Now I don't have any interest in war-related issues."

Wall Street Journal October 06, 2004 (subscription required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109706200192737805,00.html?mod=world_news_whats_news

[Jenkins' claiming Vietnam desertion] Which if true would seem to be a confession.

Comments of NK Zone

http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone/entry/2004/10/hitomi_and_char.php#comments

If true, the sad irony of his "avoiding" Vietnam service is that he wasn't on orders to go to Vietnam. The Division was, by means of a strategem that moved the colors and unit designations of the 1st Cavalry Division from Korea to Fort Benning, Georgia, where the 2nd Infantry Division folded its flag, and "moved" to Korea. All that happened in Korea in Jul '65 was that units fell out in the quadrangle and changed guidons and colors. (As supply sergeants laid in stocks of white and red paint for the eventual "Indianhead" painted rocks and signs that would replace the "Horse and Line")
Hopefully, his attorney will check the facts for himself and not rely upon Jenkin's misjudged impressions. It's sounding more and more like Jenkins should have gone for the jury trial.
(On the other hand, learning that he walked into North Korea to avoid service in a place he wasn't going anyway might just unhinge whatever mental balance he has left.)

[Captain Japan]

More Jenkins pics at http://www.usarj.army.mil/:

[Taro Toporific]

More Jenkins pics at http://www.usarj.army.mil/:

I wonder if he had ever touched a computer before coming to Japan. Hey I wonder if he's Googling this right now since the FG Forum is very high in the rankings for Jenkins info. Ohwaitaminute, he dropped out of his freshman year of high school and joined the army because he could hardly read at all.

BTW]http://www.usarj.army.mil/news/Video/index.htm[/url]

[Mulboyne]

Sorry slightly off-topic but I was looking at your links. Couldn't the US Army have found a better picture to illustrate their page on the history of Japan than this?