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James Joseph Dresnok

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James Joseph Dresnok

James Joseph Dresnok (Korean: 제임스 조지프 드레스녹, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defector to North Korea, one of seven U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War. After defecting, Dresnok worked as an actor in propaganda films, some directed by Kim Jong Il, and as an English teacher in Pyongyang. He was featured on the CBS magazine program 60 Minutes on January 28, 2007, as the last U.S. defector alive in North Korea. He was also the subject of a documentary film, Crossing the Line, by British filmmakers Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner, which was shown at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Dresnok most often called himself Joe Dresnok but was also referred to as "James" or "Jim" Dresnok in media reports. He was known by most North Koreans as "Arthur", from his role in the miniseries Unsung Heroes (1978).

Infobox

Nicknames
Jim, Joe, Arthur
Born
November 24, 1941Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Died
November 2016 (aged 74–75)Pyongyang, North Korea
Cause of death
Stroke
Allegiance
United States (1958–1962) North Korea (1962–2016)
Branch
United States Army (1958–1962)
Years of service
1958–1962 (defected)
Rank
Private first class
Spouses
mw- Kathleen Ringwood (1959–1962)Doina Bumbea (c. 1980s–1997)A daughter of a North Korean woman and a Togolese diplomat (2001–2016)
Children
3
Other work
Teacher, actor, translator
Service years
1958–1962 (defected)

Tables

Filmography of James Joseph Dresnok · Filmography
1990
From 5pm to 5am
Role(s)
American general
Notes
A North Korean action film
2006
Role(s)
Himself
Notes
A documentary film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
Refs.
1978–1981
Unsung Heroes
Arthur
A North Korean epic miniseries
1990
From 5pm to 5am
American general
A North Korean action film
2006
Crossing the Line
Himself
A documentary film

References

  1. Virginia, Birth Records, 1912–2014, Delayed Birth Records, 1854–1911; Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
  2. "The Americans Who Chose To Live in North Korea"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DvBybErjUM
  3. "An American in North Korea"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20070810034747/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/25/60minutes/main2398580.shtml
  4. Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - A/HRC/25/CRP.1
    http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc
  5. World Documentary Competition, "Crossing the Line" (2006) Archived March 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 2007 Sundance F
    http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=3319
  6. Time
    https://web.archive.org/web/20070904155613/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C501041115-750859%2C00.html
  7. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/movies/19cros.html
  8. NK News
    https://web.archive.org/web/20170410214314/https://www.nknews.org/2017/04/jim-dresnok-american-who-defected-to-n-korea-in-1962-died-in-2016/
  9. James Dresnok: The US Soldier Who Defected to North Korea
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H5QZvOqlJM
  10. Man Hopes His Brother Alive Archived February 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine; Thursday January 18, 1996
    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1996/vp960118/01180477.htm
  11. Style Weekly
    https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/the-defector/Content?oid=1378982
  12. North Korea Undercover: Inside the World's Most Secret State
    https://books.google.com/books?id=1vwpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT123
  13. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/09/korea.usa
  14. Daily Press
    https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19960118-1996-01-18-9601180086-story.html
  15. Classic North Korean film about and starring US defectors has been converted into colour, Koryogroup.com, December 6, 20
    https://koryogroup.com/blog/nameless-heroes-in-colour
  16. BBC News
    https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6267645.stm
  17. The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea
    https://archive.org/details/reluctantcommuni00jenk
  18. "North Korea Documentary About a US Army soldier who defected to North Korea" on YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mHQ9a4ChQ0
  19. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/movies/19cros.html
  20. Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936–2014
  21. Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918–2014
  22. The Washington Post
    https://web.archive.org/web/20170604031413/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/25/the-north-korean-born-sons-of-an-american-defector-speak-in-korean/
  23. Bangkok Post
    https://archive.today/20140910081131/http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/400381/
  24. USA Today
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/12/26/french-student-kidnapped-north-korea/20911411/
  25. "Romanian Woman Kidnapped by N. Korea in 1978" Archived June 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Chosun Ilbo, March 22
    http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/03/22/2007032261016.html
  26. "Romanian brother of Pyongyang abductee visits" Archived July 17, 2012, at archive.today, The Japan Times, April 21, 200
    http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070421a7.html
  27. mae.ro
    http://www.mae.ro/index.php?unde=doc&id=32413&idlnk=2&cat=4
  28. REALITATEA.NET
    http://www.realitatea.net/japonia-mizeaza-pe-ajutorul-romaniei-in-relatia-cu-phenianul-pe-tema-rapirilor_52211.html
  29. YouTube
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Tx9TmazEs
  30. YouTube
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=xoxIpNKqhus
  31. BBC News
    https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35365142
  32. YouTube
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idPCHqiDXGs
  33. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/21/american-soldier-james-dresnok-who-defected-to-north-korea-has-died-say-sons
  34. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/21/a-u-s-soldier-who-defected-to-north-korea-in-1962-has-died-his-pyongyang-born-sons-say/
  35. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2017/aug/21/dresnok-sons-our-father-told-us-to-serve-kim-jong-un-video
  36. BBC
    https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150923-the-us-defectors-who-became-film-stars-in-north-korea
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