Jim Dresnok, American who defected to N.Korea in 1962, died in 2016 | NK News
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December 22, 2024

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Jim Dresnok, American who defected to N.Korea in 1962, died in 2016

American was high-profile defector who once starred in N.Korea propaganda movies

James Joseph Dresnok, a U.S. military serviceman who in 1962 defected to North Korea by running through a minefield across the demilitarized zone, died in 2016 following a period of serious illness, regular visitors to Pyongyang told NK News last week.

News about the death of Dresnok, one of only a handful of Americans who defected North following the Korean War, has not to date been publicized by state media, despite him having played numerous roles in North Korean movies over the years.

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