Dresnok in his U.S. Army uniform, prior to his defection
Nickname(s)
Jim, Joe, Arthur
Born
November 24, 1941[1] Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Died
November 2016 (aged 74–75) Pyongyang, North Korea
Allegiance
United States (1958–1962) North Korea (1962–2016)
Service/branch
United States Army (1958–1962)
Years of service
1958–1962 (defected)
Rank
Private first class
Spouse(s)
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
James Joseph Dresnok (Korean: 제임스 조새프 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,[2] 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.[3] 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.[4][5]
Dresnok most often called himself Joe Dresnok[3] but was also referred to as "James"[6][7][8] or "Jim" Dresnok[9] in media reports. He was known by most North Koreans as "Arthur", from his starring role in the miniseries Unsung Heroes (1978).
^Virginia, Birth Records, 1912-2014, Delayed Birth Records, 1854-1911; Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
^"The Americans Who Chose To Live in North Korea". BBC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016.
^ abAnderson, Robert G.; Morgan, Casey (January 28, 2007). "An American in North Korea". 60 Minutes. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
^Cite error: The named reference United Nations Human Rights Council 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^World Documentary Competition, “Crossing the Line” (2006) Archived March 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Accessed January 28, 2007.
^Frederick, Jim; "In from the Cold" Archived September 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Time, November 4, 2004. Accessed January 28, 2007.
^Russell, Mark (October 19, 2006), "An American in North Korea, Pledging Allegiance to the Great Leader", The New York Times, archived from the original on January 25, 2016, retrieved January 28, 2007
^Full Cast and Crew for Crossing the Line Archived March 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, IMDb profile. Accessed January 28, 2007.
^Cite error: The named reference O'Carroll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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Global Information
United States (1958–1962)
North Korea (1962–2016)
United States Army (1958–1962)