US: US army Sgt Charles Robert Jenkins, accused of deserting to North Korea in 1965, did some filing and got a computer lesson yesterday, his first day at work at the US army base in Japan where he turned himself in last week.
Sgt Jenkins (64), surrendered at Camp Zama west of Tokyo last Saturday to face charges of desertion, aiding the enemy, encouraging disloyalty and soliciting other service members to desert.
Legal steps to decide his fate are under way. Meanwhile, Sgt Jenkins is on active duty.
Photos of a uniform-clad Sgt Jenkins filing paperwork and getting computer and other training in his new administrative duties were posted on the website of the US army in Japan.
Sgt Jenkins's surrender was a big step towards resolving a diplomatic headache for the United States and its close ally Japan, where sympathy runs high for his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga. The couple met and married after she was abducted to North Korea in 1978.
Ms Soga was allowed to return to Japan two years ago with four other abductees, but was not reunited with Sgt Jenkins and the couple's two North Korean-born daughters until July of this year.
Expectations are high for a deal in which Sgt Jenkins would plead guilty to one or more charges and offer to tell what he knows about North Korea in exchange for a punishment lighter than the maximum of life in prison. - (Reuters)