James Joseph Dresnok

James Joseph Dresnok
Dresnok in his U.S. Army uniform, prior to his defection
Nickname(s)Jim, Joe, Arthur
BornNovember 24, 1941[1]
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 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 service1958–1962 (defected)
RankPrivate 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)
Children3
Other workTeacher, 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 role in the miniseries Unsung Heroes (1978).

  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". BBC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, 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.
  4. ^ Kirby, Michael Donald; Biserko, Sonja; Darusman, Marzuki (February 7, 2014), 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, United Nations Human Rights Council, pp. 306 (Paragraph 973), archived from the original on February 27, 2014, Ms Dona Bumbea disappeared from Italy in 1978 and is believed to have been lured to the DPRK. Ms Bumbea had been studying art in Italy at the time when she met an Italian man claiming to be an art dealer, who convinced her to hold an exhibition in Hong Kong. The two travelled to Pyongyang en-route to Hong Kong at which point the Italian disappeared. Ms Bumbea was kept in the DPRK and "given" to American army deserter Mr Dresnock [sic]. Ms Bumbea died in the DPRK and is survived by her two sons, Mr Ricardo Dresnock born in 1981 and Mr James Gabriel Dresnock, born in 1983, both of whom have been seen in several documentaries including "Crossing the line" (2006) and "Aim High in Creation" (2013). Ms Bumbea's family in Romania has been unable to have any contact with Ms Bumbea's sons despite their wish to.
  5. ^ World Documentary Competition, “Crossing the Line” (2006) Archived March 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Accessed January 28, 2007.
  6. ^ Frederick, Jim; "In from the Cold" Archived September 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Time, November 4, 2004. Accessed January 28, 2007.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Full Cast and Crew for Crossing the Line Archived March 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, IMDb profile. Accessed January 28, 2007.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference O'Carroll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).