James Joseph Dresnok

James Joseph Dresnok
James Joseph Dresnok
	Dresnok in his U.S. Army uniform, prior to his defection
Nickname(s)	Jim, Joe, Arthur
Born	November 24, 1941; 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, 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 starring role in the miniseries Unsung Heroes (1978).

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