The Jenkins family arrive in in Japan

The Jenkins family arrive in in Japan

Agencies, Tokyo/Jakarta

Gripping a cane and looking haggard, an American accused of deserting the U.S. Army and defecting to North Korea arrived in Tokyo on Sunday with his wife and two North Korean-born daughters after flying from Indonesia to face an uncertain fate.

"Welcome home!" a crowd of waiting journalists shouted.

Charles Robert Jenkins' daughters smiled shyly as they followed behind. They had swapped the red North Korean badges they wore since leaving North Korea on July 9 for blue ribbons, symbols of the several Japanese abducted by North Korea and their supporters.

He was immediately hospitalized, putting himself within the reach of U.S. authorities for the first time in 39 years.

Jenkins, who vanished from his platoon in 1965 and later played devilish American characters in communist propaganda films, faces possible U.S. military prosecution on desertion and other charges in Japan, although American officials suggest they will delay taking him into custody.

Jenkins' arrival, broadcast live by Japanese TV networks, came amid a wave of public sympathy in Japan over the plight of his Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, who married him after she was kidnapped in Japan by North Korean agents in 1978 and taken to the communist country.

The family arrived on a Japanese government-chartered flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they held an emotional reunion after nearly two years of separation.

Before leaving for Japan on Sunday, Soga thanked the Indonesian government, the people and the Japanese community in Jakarta for the support extended to them during their stay in Indonesia.

"During our stay here, we talked extensively while spending time together, so we decided ultimately to return to Japan," Soga said in a brief statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Sunday via the Japanese Embassy.

Soga said that she decided to seek further treatment for her husband in Japan after discussing the matter with him.

"We will return to Japan today (Sunday). Our 10 days in Jakarta will be an unforgettable memory in our lives," she said.

The Japanese government, eager to reunite Soga's family, has pushed for U.S. clemency for the North Carolina native, and stood by its position on Sunday that Jenkins' health should take priority over his legal problems.

"The Japanese government will provide all the necessary support so Mr. Jenkins can concentrate on his medical treatment for now," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker said on Saturday Washington was sympathetic to Jenkins's health problems and that this "may delay our request for his transfer to U.S. custody". He added that there were no plans for U.S. officials to see Jenkins in the immediate future.

But he repeated the U.S. view that Jenkins had deserted, adding: "The U.S. government has the right to request custody ... and will do so at the appropriate time."

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said it was still too early to predict what might happen.

"Jenkins needs medical treatment," he told Japanese television. "Until that happens, nothing else can happen."

Jenkins' nephew, James Hyman, flew to Japan in the hope of seeing his uncle. In an appearance Sunday on Japan's NTV network, which accompanied him on the flight to Tokyo, Hyman said he had received a letter from Soga telling him and his family about Jenkins.

His family has denied that he is a deserter, maintaining that he was kidnapped by North Korea. Hyman called for his uncle to be pardoned.

"We hope that, it being so long since he's been gone, he might not be prosecuted," said Hyman, who said he had brought a country music CD as a gift for his uncle.