Americans in North Korea consist mainly of defectors and prisoners of war during and after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, as well as their locally born descendants. Additionally, there are occasional tours and group travel which consists of Americans via train or plane from China, some with temporal lodging and stay.
Prisoners of war
On September 17, 1996, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported the possible presence of American POWs in North Korea, citing declassified documents. The documents showed that the
U.S. Defense Department knew in December 1953 that "more than 900 American troops were alive at the end of the war but were never released by the North Koreans". The
Pentagon did not confirm the report, saying it had no clear evidence that any Americans were being held against their will in North Korea but pledged to continue to investigate accounts of defectors and others who said they had seen American prisoners there. The North Korean government has said it is not holding any Americans.
Notable people
Korean War
Operation Big Switch, the exchange of remaining prisoners of war, commenced in early August 1953 and lasted into December. During that period, some 21 American soldiers refused to return to their homeland and decided to stay in the country (along with one British soldier and 327 South Koreans).
Notable defectors
*
Anna Wallis Suh (1950, died 1969.)
*
Larry Allen Abshier
Larry Allen Abshier (1943 – July 11, 1983) was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War. He was born in Urbana, Illinois.
Defecting
Private Abshier, a member of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Cavalry, ...
(1962,
died 1983.
)
*
James Joseph Dresnok
James Joseph Dresnok ( ko, 제임스 조새프 드레스녹, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defection, defector to North Korea, one of six U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War.
After defecting, Dresnok worked as an ...
(1962,
died 2016.
)
*
Jerry Wayne Parrish (1963,
died 1998.
)
*
Charles Robert Jenkins (1965,
left North Korea in 2004,
died 2017.)
*
Roy Chung (1979, died 2004.)
*
Joseph T. White
Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 August 17, 1985) was a United States Army soldier who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982.
Life and career
Born to Norval and Kathleen White, he had four siblings and volunteered for the 1980 Reagan p ...
(1982,
died 1985.)
See also
*
2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
*
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
*
List of Americans detained by North Korea
This is a list of foreign nationals who have been detained in North Korea. Excluded from the list are any persons who were detained while on active military duty and held as Korean War POWs detained in North Korea, prisoners of war or List of Ame ...
References
{{Immigrants and expatriates in Korea
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
Demographics of North Korea
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...