U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States will not oppose the planned reunion in Indonesia of former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga and her American husband, Charles Jenkins.

Powell spoke with reporters in Jakarta Thursday after a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its 10 dialogue partners.

Powell said the United States understands and accepts the planned reunion as a "humanitarian issue."

Powell said the planned reunion between Soga and Jenkins is an issue to be decided upon among the governments of Indonesia, Japan and North Korea.

However, the secretary was quick to add that Jenkins' desertion from the U.S. Army is an issue that still needs to be resolved.

The U.S. government says Jenkins deserted to North Korea while serving in South Korea in 1965.