Dresnok was among a handful of American servicemen to desert after the Korean war and was loyal to Kim Jong-un

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The only US soldier known to still be living in North Korea after defecting more than five decades ago died last year, pledging his loyalty to the “great leader Kim Jong-un”, his sons have said. Mr James Joseph Dresnok was among just a handful of American servicemen to desert the army following the 1950-1953 Korean War, crossing the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone in 1962. He appeared in North Korean propaganda films and was believed to be the last U.S. defector in the secluded country, the others all having died or been allowed to leave, according to The Guardian. North Korea's bold wave of propaganda art - in pictures Read more

In a video interview posted on the state-run Uriminzokkiri website, Ted and James Dresnok, his two sons, confirmed their father had a fatal stroke in November last year. “Our father was in the arms of the republic and received only the love and care of the party until his passing at age 74,” said Ted Dresnok, the elder of the two. A language expert told CNN last year that the two spoke Korean fluently with distinct North Korean accents. RELATED: North Korea threatens “merciless strike” to defend itself from annual joint military drills

“Our father asked us to render devoted service to our great leader Kim-Jong-un,” said Ted Dresnok, whose Korean name is Hong Soon-chol. Play Video 1:01 Sons of US defector to North Korea James Dresnok speak out after father's death – video

Addressing the recent tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, Ted Dresnok warned that the “US imperialists” were raising “war hysteria madness” with little knowledge about the North’s military and its people. The late James Dresnok, known as Joe, was 21, newly divorced and reportedly facing a court-martial when he made his way through the minefields that litter the DMZ to reach North Korea. He was the subject of a British documentary, Crossing the Line, in 2006 and expressed satisfaction with his life in Pyongyang, whose citizens enjoy better standards of living than those elsewhere in the isolated country.
In a video interview posted on the state-run website Uriminzokkiri, the two sons of James Joseph Dresnok (the last remaining American defector to North Korea) have confirmed that their father has died of a stroke last November 2016.