Charles Jenkins, a former U.S. Army sergeant who spent decades in the DPRK as a deserter, said Tuesday after a reunion with his 91-year-old mother and other family members that he was glad to be home.

''I feel very happy,'' he told reporters as he smiled and held onto to his mother, Pattie Casper. ''Thank you, especially some of you who came all the way from Japan. Thank you very much.''

Standing on the other side of his mother was Jenkin's Japanese wife, Hitomi Soga, a former abductee who was repatriated from DPRK, who held the aged woman by the arm as they stood on the front porch of his sister Pat Harrell's house in Weldon.

Also present at the press conference were their DPRK-born children, Mika, 22 and Brinda, 19, as well as Jenkin's other relatives.

Earlier in the afternoon as Jenkins and his family entered the home for the first time he looked pleased and when asked by a reporter if he was happy to be home, he replied, ''Of course.''

When asked by another journalist how it felt to be in North Carolina again, he said, ''Very good.''

He was picked up by close relatives at Richmond airport earlier in the day. His mother had been eagerly awaiting his return, according to Janet King, a neighbor and close friend of Jenkin's sister.

The long-anticipated family reunion had been in the works for some time so that Jenkins could return to see his mother.

Jenkins and his family arrived in Richmond, Virginia, via Washington before heading to North Carolina.

''This is a very informal but intimate and private time for me to be reunited with my family after 40 years and I ask for your understanding,'' Jenkins said in a press statement, prior to his departure from Japan.

The family has been tight-lipped about his arrival and any plans after the reunion. In the statement he also indicated that none of them would be granting interviews or holding press conferences.

''It has been my strong wish for a long time to see my mother again,'' Jenkins said in an earlier statement. He also stated that he hoped to ''catch up on all the years'' with his family.

Currently he has no plans to remain in the United States beyond the scheduled visit.

Source: Agencies