US deserter dies in North Korea

TWO sons of a US soldier who defected to North Korea in 1962 appear on the rogue state’s media to reveal he died last November.

James Dresnok was believed to be the last US deserter still alive in North Korea when he died aged 74.

Sons Ted, right, and James – in Korean People’s Army uniform – confirmed he died of a stroke, having pledged loyalty to the “great leader Kim Jong-un” on his deathbed. Ted, the elder of the two, added on a video shown on a state-run website: “Our father was in the arms of the republic and received the love and care of the party until his passing.”

James Dresnok Snr, of Richmond, Virginia, was 21, had marriage trouble and was facing a court martial for forging a pass when he crossed the mined border from South Korea.

He became known as Comrade Joe and said in a 2006 documentary: “I crossed over, looking for my new life.”

Two years later he said he thought of himself as a citizen of Pyongyang, the capital, adding: “I don’t consider myself a traitor, I love my country.”

He appeared in propaganda films and in messages broadcast to US troops, glorifying life in North Korea. He was married twice there and had a third son. In the video his older sons spoke with heavy northern accents.