Jenkins cleared for residency

Charles Jenkins, the American husband of repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, will be granted permanent resident status, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said Friday.

Jenkins, 68, met his wife in North Korea, where he lived for nearly 40 years after deserting from the U.S. Army. The couple live on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.(IHT/Asahi: July 12,2008)