North Korean Pilot's Daring Defection

the defection of no kumuk Elite North Korean fighter pilot as North Korean fighter pilot no kumuk gazed down at the ruins of Pon yangang at 19,000 ft he weighed up the pros and cons of defecting for one last time a decorated veteran of the Korean War if he stayed he would live the rest of his life in Comfort if he left and plunged into the unknown there was a high chance he would perish in the process then suddenly he envisioned a lifetime of mind-numbing ideological meetings lies betrayal and denunciation his mind was made up he simply had to escape Beginnings no Kum Suk was born into a well-to-do family on January 10th 1932 in sing hung County at the time when North Korea was under the control of a brutal Japanese Colonial regime his father was noja hu a senior manager working for a Japanese construction company by the time he was 12 in 1944 no idolized the Japanese emperor hiiro desperate to play some part in the war against the advancing americ American Scourge he asked his father for permission to be a kamakazi pilot his response was revealing you want to dive into an American warship are you crazy it was at this moment that he realized his father's loyalty to Imperial Japan was not at all as encompassing as he had previously thought first encounters following the conclusion of World War II a flood of soldiers from the Soviet Union pillaged abused and murdered their way across North Korea as a result the family fled into South Korea where they first encountered American soldiers in contrast to the loudish Russians no was greatly impressed by their behavior cleanliness and orderliness getting his hands on several picture books he became enchanted with the United States and in particular with one image depicting a happy California couple driving a big automobile while a friendly dog poked its nose out of the window enjoying the Cool Breeze discouraged by the faltering post-war South Korean economy the family moved back to North Korea where nose communist teachers proclaimed the USA to be a poor country having seen irrefutable proof to the contrary he knew at once that everything he was being taught was a lie from then on no dreamed of escaping to America living a lie as he grew up no learned to hide his pro-american leanings with the best possible cover he engrossed himself in state sponsored education avoiding Japanese and English words and displayed fake enthusiasm for the teachings of Communism all the while he waited and searched for an opportunity to break free in 1949 as kimil Sun moved his armies closer to the 38th parallel to threaten violent reunification no was conscripted into the North Korean Navy since his father had worked for the hated Japanese he had to lie on his entrance exam about his origins in order to pass terrified his problematic background would be exposed no allayed suspicion by becoming the Naval Academy star pupil being awarded an A in communist history for his efforts it was a grade that would all alter the course of his life for following the outbreak of the Korean war with the recommendation of his history Professor no was deemed ideologically committed enough for pilot training in China his chance to take flight had finally come the fighter pilot as a trainee who could potentially Fly Away in defect know political loyalties were closely monitored by his commanding officers to remain undetected he established and managed a pro communist newspaper for the Airfield while keeping his snooping comrades at a comfortable distance in the summer of 1951 after 50 hours flying time in a mig5 he qualified as an elite Jet Pilot and by the end of the Korean War he had been promoted to senior Lieutenant after flying over 100 combat missions a number of obstacles had stopped him from making a break for South Korea no was discouraged by the fact he never had precise coordinates for a South Korean airst strip that could accommodate a MIG 15 additionally he was worried about being immediately shot down by his comrades are being blown up in the air by anti-aircraft American fire as he made his escape to maximize his chances Noom Suk waited just under 2 months after the end of the war to make his move the escape in September 1953 no received orders to report to Sunan a village less than 10 minutes by air to the 38th parallel on the morning of September 20th he was informed by his officer that as the most experienced pilot he would be one of the first to take off from the base for the next day's Mission Not only would he be flying close to South Korea but he would be doing it alone moreover this time he knew exactly where to land a year prior as part of an aborted mission to attack inside South Korea he had learned the precise location of an American Air Base at Kimo how to approach it and how much fuel he would need to reach it information which he had hastily scribbled down on a notepad at Great personal risk on the morning of Monday September 21st the skies were clear with moderate win in other words perfect flying conditions at 9:05 no took off in his Mig 15 right after his comrade Lieutenant cha who had gone first flying halfway to China he then reoriented his craft so he was heading towards the interior of North Korea next instead of turning left so he could land on schedule in tunan Noom Suk made a life alterate decision he turned right increasing his air speed to a blistering 620 mph his heart slammed into his chest as he dashed South towards the 38th parallel as he approached the Border he scanned left and right to see if he was being followed nothing suddenly from his radio he heard the control tower give Lieutenant cha permission to land he knew he was next in line soaring over a range of rugged mountains a message came over his radio where are you 87 again and again every 5 Seconds as he passed over into South Korean airspace as he flew above foreign Skies no was surprised he hadn't been inter accepted by one of the many American Sabres patrolling the area he didn't know it but this was because he had been blessed by two remarkable Strokes of Good Fortune the Kimo radar had actually been turned off that morning for maintenance and the few American pilots who had caught s of him did not recognize his Mig as an enemy aircraft all of a sudden Kimo Airbase came into view and no realized that he was approaching it from the wrong direction he also noticed that a saber was coming in to land in front of him worried it would spot him pull up and shoot him down no made a split-second decision to land to the left of the runway on an adjacent dirt Landing Strip however the saber came in faster than he expected taxiing off the main Runway and leaving it completely clear no seized the opportunity and prepared for Touchdown as he extended his landing gear though he spotted another saber coming into land they were going to collide having clocked the mig5 the saber pilot Dave Williams veered right at the last moment and the two planes roared past each other at 140 mph it's a goddamn Mig shouted the American captain to his radio with the Americans unsure of whether to fire at him or not no eased as figh her into the empty slop between the two parked Sabers the whole journey had taken 17 minutes smashing the framed photo of kimil sun that adorned his cockpit he stepped out and began shouting the only English word he could remember from school Motorcar Motorcar a startled group of American Pilots came out to meet him and trying to appear friendly began shaking their hands his wish was granted and no was whisked to the headquarters of the American Fifth Air Force in a car there he was given his first taste of an ice cold Coca-Cola and an opportunity to explain himself he soon learned that he would be the recipient of $100,000 a prize that had been offered by the Americans to the first North Korean pilot to successfully deliver an intact Mig 15 as part of operation Mula no's childhood dream had come true but without even knowing it he had become a rich man in the process back in North Korea there were several repercussions for no's actions based on information given by Eun Yong another Defector General Juan Yong the leader of the North Korean Air Force was demoted and five of no's immediate officers and fellow Pilots were executed for failing to stop his defection North Korea also practices Collective punishment for family members of transgressors though his father had died previously and his mother had already escaped to South Korea due to the secretive nature of the North Korean government the fate of no other family members is impossible to determine the Mig was taken to an American Military Base in okwa where it was repainted with US Air Force markings and test flown by Captain h e Collins and major Chuck joerger it was then transferred to the wri Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and later to the national museum of the US Air Force near Dayton Ohio where it is currently on display after Gathering as much Intelligence on the aircraft as possible the US offered to return the jet to North Korea this offer was ignored in 1954 following lengthy interrogations in which he revealed much useful Intel about the inner workings of the North Korean military no Kum Suk changed his name to Kenneth row and settled in the United States he died on December 26th 20122 as he wanted to live a proud American [Music] citizen [Music]

Channel: Simple History

Views: 758,350

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, animation, korea, north, north korea, jet, jets, south, south korea, us, US, MiG, mig, Mig, Saber, fighter, pilot, airplane, escape, freedom

Id: w53D44R3db4

Length: 9min 42sec (582 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 11 2024