Japan has asked the United States to pardon a former American soldier living in North Korea whose Japanese wife was kidnapped by the reclusive regime and repatriated in 2002, government sources said Saturday.
The government made the request after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday he will make a second visit to Pyongyang on May 22 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
The government is hoping to have eight relatives -- including former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins -- of the five repatriated Japanese brought to Japan.