I heard of a case where an American soldier stationed in South Korea defected to the North in 1964 (when he heard he was going to be sent to Vietnam). His wife, a Japanese woman who had been abducted by the North Koreans (he married her after defecting) was eventually allowed to return to Japan, but he was afraid of being shot for desertion. When he finally went to Japan and turned himself in, they busted him to private, gave him a dishonorable discharge, and perhaps a short stay in the brig—in other words, a slap on the wrist. But they may have thought spending 40+ years in North Korea was punishment enough.
Yeah, that Asshole.
Can’t remember his name but that case still gripes my butt. At the very least he should have lost his citizenship for that. Japan would have given him some sort of immigration deal because of his abductee wife, but he was a traitor of the worst sort and I think he should have been shot.