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James Dresnok, last US soldier to defect to N Korea, dies James Dresnok: Sons confirm death of US defector to N Korea
(about 5 hours later)
James Dresnok, the last known US soldier living in North Korea after defecting, has died aged 74. James Dresnok, the last known US soldier living in North Korea, died of a stroke aged 74 late last year, his sons have confirmed.
His sons - both born in North Korea - told a state media outlet their father had died in November last year, and was loyal to North Korea until the end. Mr Dresnok's children said he was loyal to North Korea until the end, in a video interview published last week by local news outlet Uriminzokkiri.
Dresnok crossed the dangerous Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) marking the border with North Korea in 1962. After crossing over to the North in 1962 he went to lead an extraordinary life in Pyongyang.
His older son, Ted Dresnok, said his father "received only the love and care of the party until his passing". This included a stint as a star in North Korea's film industry.
Ted, who is also known by his Korean name Hong Soon-Chol, also said their father had raised them to be faithful citizens of North Korea. What did his sons say?
"One thing that our father asked us to do was to become faithful workers that render devoted service to the dear leader Kim Jong-Un and to raise our children so they will follow and brighten that path," he said, quoted by AFP news agency. Rumours of Mr Dresnok's death surfaced earlier this year, and the latest video, featuring his sons Ted and James Jr wearing military uniforms and speaking in fluent Korean, is confirmation.
Both he and his brother James spoke in Korean, and wore military uniforms in the video interview filmed by a local news outlet and released at the weekend. James Jr said that "our family was shocked because my father died unexpectedly", but added "my father ended his days without regret."
James Dresnok senior spent more than 50 years living in North Korea, becoming a public figure and a film star. Ted, who is the older son, said his father "received only the love and care of the party until his passing".
His voice was used in messages played across the border at his former brothers-in-arms, telling US soldiers on the other side about his new life and encouraging them to cross the border. "One thing that our father asked us to do was to become faithful workers that render devoted service to the dear leader Kim Jong-Un and to raise our children so they will follow and brighten that path," he said.
Along with other deserters, he played a prominent role in North Korean propaganda cinema from the late 1970s onwards - playing the American enemy. The interview was published online by North Korean television news outlet Uriminzokkiri last Friday.
'One place to go' It was the second time the two sons had appeared on the channel. In May 2016 they were seen praising North Korea in another video.
In 2006, he was the subject of a documentary called Crossing the Line, which aired on the BBC. In it, Dresnok told his story for the first time. The two men have said in the videos that they serve in North Korea's military, and are married with children.
"I have never regretted coming to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", he said in the film's opening minutes, in a deep American voice which retained its accent. Why is this interview being released now?
"I feel at home. I really feel at home... I wouldn't trade it for nothing." Given that Mr Dresnok died last year, questions have been raised about the timing of the interview.
According to Dresnok and other interviewees, at the time of his defection he was divorced and left his camp for the nearby town without permission on a forged signature. It was published just before the US and South Korea embarked on military exercises which routinely anger the North, and comes after weeks of provocative rhetoric between the US and Pyongyang.
He was facing court martial for the offence, another soldier from his camp told the filmmakers. It also appears to be targeted at a foreign audience - it was published on Uriminzokkiri's YouTube channel and has not been aired or mentioned in domestic media, according to BBC Monitoring.
Speaking about his decision to defect, Dresnok said he was "fed up". But the video has also come out a week after the Los Angeles Times ran an interview with another US solder who defected to North Korea, Charles Jenkins, whose past accounts have clashed with Mr Dresnok's. Mr Jenkins eventually made his way back to the US.
"To hell with this - I was fed up with my childhood, my marriage, my military life. Everything - I was finished," he said. North Korean analyst Michael Madden told the BBC such videos were a relic from a bygone generation of North Korean propaganda play.
He said it was likely that many of those who acted as Mr Dresnok's minders are no longer part of the leadership.
Uriminzokkiri is not considered state media, but is thought to be run by North Korean intelligence, and is meant to have a pan-Korean outlook with an external focus, according to Mr Madden.
"The department is long known to have been responsible for the small and motley collection of foreign North Korean citizens, and the message conveyed by the sons of Mr Dresnok is likely to have been an important one for them," said Mr Madden.
What is Mr Dresnok's story?
Mr Dresnok was one of four US soldiers who defected to North Korea in the 1960s, and spent more than 50 years living in the secretive Communist country.
He was facing divorce and a court martial at the time of his defection.
In a 2006 documentary film with British filmmakers called Crossing The Line, he said he told himself "to hell with this - I was fed up with my childhood, my marriage, my military life. Everything - I was finished."
"There's only one place to go.""There's only one place to go."
He left at lunchtime on 15 August 1962, not sure if he would survive the trip across the DMZ. He left at lunchtime on 15 August 1962, not sure if he would survive the trip across the mine-strewn demilitarised zone (DMZ) marking the border between the North and South Korea.
But he survived, eventually starting a new life and a new family on the other side. But he did, eventually starting a new life on the other side, and marrying a Romanian woman, with whom he had Ted and James Jr.
Speaking about the current tensions between the United States and Pyongyang, his sons were confident about their homeland's chances. He also had a third son, born in 2001, after he married the daughter of a Korean woman and an African diplomat following the death of his Romanian wife.
"If the enemies launch a pre-emptive attack against us, we will not miss the opportunity and wipe the land of the US from the earth forever," James Dresnok junior told the interviewer. Along with other deserters, Mr Dresnok played a prominent role in North Korean propaganda cinema from the late 1970s onwards - playing the American enemy - and became a household celebrity.
"We have our dear supreme commander Kim Jong-Un. If he is by our side, our victory is certain." He also taught in a foreign language college, and translated writings by North Korean leaders into English.
His voice was used in messages played across the border at his former brothers-in-arms, telling US soldiers about his new life and encouraging them to cross the border.
"I have never regretted coming to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", he said in the 2006 film's opening minutes, speaking in English with a strong American accent.
"I feel at home. I really feel at home... I wouldn't trade it for nothing."