60 minutes is showing an image of U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins in North Korea in 1985 with his wife and child. A larger photo can be seen here. Jenkins states that the woman behind him to the left is a Thai national who was kidnapped by North Korean agents from Macau in 1978. From the 60 Minutes article:

If what Jenkins says is true, it would represent the first photographic evidence that North Korea abducted ordinary citizens from Asian countries other than Japan and South Korea.

Jenkins identifies the woman in the background of the photograph as Anoche (or Anocha) Panjoy. He says he knew her well because she was married to his best friend in North Korea, fellow U.S. army deserter Larry Abshier, who died of a heart attack in 1983.

According to Jenkins, Anoche said she had been grabbed, tied up, drugged, and taken over a large hill or "mountain," where she was then put in a boat and taken to North Korea.

“She told me…. It was two or three more girls they got the same night," Jenkins told 60 Minutes. “Put 'em on the same boat and brought them all to Korea.”

Anoche was in her 20s when she was abducted, Jenkins says. The photo of her was taken in 1985, after she had been in North Korea for seven years. "She begged them to send her home many times," Jenkins says. “They said to her, 'Why do you complain? You’re much better off here than you were before.':”

After her husband’s death in 1983, Anoche continued to live in the same apartment building as Jenkins and his wife. But she later moved out and remarried. Jenkins says he and his wife have not seen her since 1989.

Anoche and Abshier had no children, Jenkins says. The Caucasian-looking child sitting beside Anoche in the photo is the offspring of another U.S. army deserter and his wife.

Han Song Ryol, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, declined to comment on Jenkins’ allegations.

A spokesman for the Thai foreign ministry said it had never heard of any Thai people being kidnapped by North Korean agents, and it would seek more details from Jenkins. But a Japanese official said information about Anoche had been passed to Thai diplomats in May, and there had been no follow-up from the Thais since. Jenkins told 60 Minutes he had not been contacted by anyone from Thailand or Macau about the alleged abduction.

Jenkins’ wife, Hitomi Soga, is one of five Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korea and later allowed to go home. Jenkins met Soga in North Korea, and they raised two children there. In 2002, Soga returned to Japan. After lengthy diplomatic negotiations, Jenkins and their two children joined her in Japan last year.

Soga has also identified Anoche as the woman in the photograph. Unlike Jenkins, Soga did not recall Anoche’s last name, or the specific details of her abduction. She said it was possible Anoche had been tricked into coming to North Korea and then not allowed to leave.

Thanks to Mr. Lee for the info!

Mike