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US defector wants to tell N. Korea's side

An American defector to North Korea wants to tell his story to put a human face on the state, which he believes is unfairly vilified abroad, British filmmakers said.

Army private James Dresnok, 63, who fled to the Stalinist nation more than 40 years ago, wants to paint a positive picture of ordinary people there, they said.

"They are human here," Dresnok told the filmmakers, according to their news release.

"The US military teaches you they are evil Communists, they have horns, they have fangs, they have red faces. I never believed such bullshit. Of course, there is an ideological difference, but that is the only difference."

Filmmaker Nicholas Bonner, who met Dresnok in June, said the North Korean government had arranged the interview but did not stage-manage the defec-tor's comments.

Bonner said Dresnok appeared to be enjoying a "simple life" working as a part-time English teacher in Pyongyang.

"He seems extremely happy there. He hasn't got any great yearning to get out of there," Bonner said in Beijing this week.

International attention recently has focused on Charles Jenkins, another US soldier who crossed the border in the 1960s while on patrol on the South Korean side.

Jenkins, 64, last month was allowed to leave North Korea to be reunited with his Japanese wife, who was abducted by Pyongyang agents in 1978.

But few knew there were others, and Dresnok, from Virginia, is the last surviving US defector in the reclusive country.

"The most amazing thing is everyone is focused on Jenkins ... (but) here's Dresnok ... a man who has nothing known about him," Bonner said.

"People certainly didn't know there's an American who likes his country but is still there (in North Korea)."

Dresnok and Jenkins, who defected in 1962 and 1965 respectively, were not the only American soldiers who crossed the 38th Parallel in the 1960s after the 1950-53 Korean War.

Two others -- Private Larry Allen Abshier and Corporal Jerry Wayne Parish -- died of natural causes in North Korea, according to Jenkins and Dresnok.

In 1979 and 1982, US soldiers Roy Chung and Joseph White also defected. Bonner said he heard they also died of natural causes.

The filmmakers hope that with Dresnok's help they can find the deceased men's families in North Korea and tell the stories of all six defectors in the film, to be titled "Crossing the Line."

"Nobody knows about them," Bonner said, adding Jenkins only came to prominence because of the abduction cases, where North Korea kidnapped Japanese citi-zens to help train spies.

Dresnok told the filmmakers he had originally planned to defect to Russia when he crossed the border but later decided to stay in North Korea.

Speaking of his early years in the country, Dresnok said: "We were under the supervision of the North Korean military. They took good care of us and they requested us to teach English to military personnel."

"I find it more convenient to live among peaceful people, living a simple life," he said.

Even gaining entry to the highly secretive country is difficult, but the British film company has already shot two films there, including an award-winning documentary on the North Korean soccer team that beat Italy in the 1966 World Cup.

"I think they realize we take a fairly, as much as possible, neutral point of view. We ask the questions and let the viewers figure things out for themselves," Bonner said. "We've never had anything censored, never had anything restricted."

He and Gordon hope to begin filming the defectors' stories in September following formal government approval.

"I hope people will just see their [the defectors'] side of the story when the film comes out," Bonner said, denying any political motives for the film.

The US embassy in Beijing did not have an immediate comment and directed questions to the US Defense Department.
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