A US official denied there could be a plea bargain for Charles Robert Jenkins, an ex-US soldier accused of deserting to North Korea, but Japanese media said on Saturday he may meet a legal expert soon to discuss his options.
Jenkins, 64, who Washington says deserted in 1965 and joined North Korea's propaganda machine, arrived in Japan for medical care last Sunday with his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, and their two daughters after the family was reunited in Jakarta on July 9.
Washington has repeatedly said it had the right to seek Jenkins' custody so that he can face court martial but it has put off doing so because of his poor health. Jenkins met Soga after she was abducted by North Korea agents in 1978.
Her plight has touched Japanese hearts. Tokyo is asking Washington to give Jenkins special treatment, and the idea of a plea bargain has been floated as a possible solution.
Japanese media have quoted US ambassador to Japan Howard Baker as having suggested as his personal idea that Jenkins turn himself in, obtain a lawyer and try to plea bargain.
But Kyodo news agency quoted Richard Lawless, the US deputy under secretary of defence for Asia and Pacific Affairs, as saying in Washington that there had been no US suggestion for a plea bargain.
"No one I know suggests there is a bargain ... No suggestion about it," Kyodo quoted Lawless as telling reporters. "The US position is this man is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice," Lawless said. "He is an active duty US serviceman," Kyodo quoted him as saying. Asked whether the United States could be flexible on the case, Lawless replied: "No."