Camp Zama, Japan
Charles Jenkins, an Army sergeant accused of defecting to North Korea in 1965, surrendered this week to U.S. forces in Japan. Jenkins, now 64, lived in the Stalinist state for 39 years, often portraying evil American characters in government propaganda films. He married Hitomi Soga, one of several Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and ’80s. After Soga was returned to Japan last year, as part of a Korean-Japanese agreement, the Japanese government negotiated to get her husband and two children released as well. Jenkins, a North Carolina native, is charged with desertion, but his family says he was kidnapped and held against his will. Pending his trial, he has been reinstated in the Army and will live on base in Japan.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'
-
Bad Friend: Tiffany Watt Smith explores why women abandon friendshipsThe Week Recommends A 'deeply researched' account of female friendship through history
-
Brazil's reborn dolls crazeUnder The Radar The 'hyper-realistic' babies soaring in popularity in South American nation have spawned controversy
