Charles Jenkins, the former U.S. soldier who deserted to North Korea, voiced hope Wednesday that his recently published memoir will contribute to settling the long-standing North Korean abduction issue.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='200' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20051013a8a.jpg' WIDTH='200' HEIGHT='126'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Charles Jenkins, with his recently published memoir on his life in North Korea, 'To Tell The Truth,' meets reporters Wednesday during a promotional event at a Tokyo hotel. </B></FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>'I hope that this book will help the abduction issue in a small way,' Jenkins, the 65-year-old husband of repatriated Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga, told a news conference in Tokyo.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Jenkins' book, published Friday, details memories of his decades-long life in North Korea. He indicated it will take time to resolve the abduction issue but defended the Japanese government's efforts.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I'm not here to criticize the Japanese government –

how they handle the abductions . . . they are doing everything they can do," he said.

In his memoir, Jenkins says he met or witnessed many people in North Korea who he believed were definitely abductees from Europe, the Middle East, Hong Kong and other parts of Southeast Asia.

"I know Japanese abductees" as well as "Romanian" and "Thai" abductees, he said.

Jenkins was referring to the women he mentions in the book whom he and other U.S. Army deserters lived with or married in North Korea. The women included a Romanian called "Dona," a Thai whose name was "Anoche" and a Lebanese called "Shi'am."