Charles Robert Jenkins

Charles Robert Jenkins ( born February 18, 1940 in Rich Square, North Carolina ) is a former soldier of the United States, who lived from 1965 to 2004 in North Korea after he had deserted from his unit and had crossed the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Military career and desertion

He joined in 1955 the National Guard of the United States, but well below the prescribed minimum age and moved in 1958 to the regular armed forces of the army. There he initially served under the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea from 1960 to 1961. Thereafter until 1964 he was reassigned to Europe and was subsequently transferred back to South Korea.

In South Korea, Jenkins was assigned to the night strips. Because of his fear of commanding the troops fighting in the Vietnam War, he began to drink. One night, after he had drunk ten beers, he went on night patrol along the Demilitarized Zone. In the early morning of January 5 1965, he told his soldiers that he wanted to pursue the cause of a noise. Later, crossed the border into North Korea and surrendered to the local armed forces in the hope of being handed over to the Soviet Union to the United States. Shortly thereafter, however, the North Korean propaganda said that a U.S. sergeant had overflowed and transferred the alleged statements of the defector in stilted English in the newspapers and on the radio. According to the U.S. armed forces Jenkins wrote four letters, the originals of which were lost, which confirmed his intentions to defect. His relatives, however, were convinced that he had been abducted during the entire absence Jenkins.

Stay in North Korea

For many years no information on Jenkins out of North Korea were available. Jenkins says he almost immediately regretted the overflow and had to pay 40 years for this act. By his own admission he and three other U.S. soldiers were made ​​until 1972 in Einzimmerhäusern without running water under house arrest. There they had to learn, where they were forced by regular beats, learn great passages in the book in Korean by heart the Juche philosophy of Kim Il-sung. Jenkins succeeded once in 1966 to escape to the Soviet Embassy in Pyongyang. His request for asylum was refused him. Finally, he was separated from his soldiers and he began to teach English at the Kim Il-sung University for foreign students. However, its very strong North Carolinians accent bothered the concern of the government, its spies sufficiently teach good English, so that they could pursue their work in South Korea without any problems. After this deficiency was noticed in the spy operation, Jenkins was released from this activity.

Jenkins was announced in 1980 with the 21- year-old Japanese Nurse Hitomi Soga, who was kidnapped from Japan by North Korean agents along with her mother. North Korea tried to train his future secret agents on the Japanese language and culture in order not to attract attention in Japan with these kidnappings. From Sogas mother was heard since her abduction, nothing more and Soga was "given" Jenkins. North Koreans brought Asians with Europeans and Americans, so that hybrids are born, which are better suited as spies. These hybrids are not uncommon in South Korea, and it was easy for spies to pose as South Koreans. In North Korea, but there are children of mixed marriages as well as not. Jenkins and Soga fell in love and after 38 days they got married. They have two children Roberta Mika Jenkins, born in 1983, and, born in 1985, of the British press also called Brinda Carol Jenkins Belinda.

The propaganda film Nameless Heroes ( nameless hero ), 1982 was the first evidence that Jenkins was still alive. However, the U.S. government released this information until 1996.

Return

It was not until 2002, Jenkins moved back international attention, as the North Korean leader Kim Jong- il officially the abduction of Japanese by North Korea confirmed. In order to relax the political relations of the two states, there were all surviving abductees allowed to travel back to Japan, including Jenkins's wife. It was intended that the length of stay in Japan is limited to one week. However, the Japanese government überredetet visitors to stay longer, while the government was negotiating with their families in North Korea, also to come to Japan. Many families followed the offer of the Japanese government. Jenkins, however, refused, saying he feared that the North Korean leadership tested him on his loyalty. After pledge of protection by the Japanese government Jenkins was traveling via Indonesia, where he was treated medically, to Japan, where he arrived on 18 July 2004. Japan, officially launched an application for a pardon, which was rejected by the United States. To ease his conscience, Jenkins reported back in military form September 11, the Japanese military police in the U.S. base Camp Zama.

On November 3, Jenkins pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and aiding the enemy, but denied to have given treasonous or seditious statements. This objection was upheld and painted by the prosecution. He was sentenced to 30 days of arrest and detention to a dishonorable discharge. Because of good behavior to him six days arrest were issued on 27 November 2004, he was dismissed.

Jenkins moved with his family to the island of Sado in Japan, Sogas home. On 14 June 2005, he traveled with his family to the U.S. to visit his 91- year-old mother in North Carolina.

More deserters

Three more deserted American soldiers remained in North Korea:

• James Joseph Dresnok, defected in 1962
• Private Larry Allen Abshier, defected in 1962
• Specialist Jerry Wayne Parrish, defected in 1963

The latter two have died, according to the North Korean government of natural causes.

Memoirs

Jenkins published in October 2005 a book in Japanese titled "告白" ( " Kokuhaku ", German: " tell the truth "; ISBN 4-04-791510-6 ). In this book he talks about his experiences in North Korea. A translation into Korean was published in June 2006. In spring 2008, published in English " The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court- Martial, and Forty- Year Imprisonment in North Korea " (ISBN 978-0520253339, ISBN 978-0520259997 ). The book authored Jenkins together with the former Tokyo correspondent of Time magazine, Jim Frederick.