Joseph T. White

Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 August 17, 1985) was a United States Army soldier who was one of seven that 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 presidential campaign before he could vote. In 1979, he attended a YMCA model legislature and introduced a 'bill' requiring 11 months of reserve military service for all 18-year-old males. in South Korea. At around 2 a.m., on August 28, 1982, he shot the lock off one of the gates leading into the Korean Demilitarized Zone and was witnessed by fellow soldiers walking through the DMZ from Guard Post Ouellette, near Kaesong with a duffle bag full of documents he stole from the site including the layout of mines which were buried on the South Korean side of the DMZ. He surrendered to North Korean troops. He was the first American soldier to request asylum in North Korea since January 1965 and the fifth since the Korean War.

North Korean authorities refused a request by United Nations Command representatives to meet White and ask him about the reasons for his defection. North Korean authorities released a video of White, in which he denounced the United States' "corruptness, criminality, immorality, weakness, and hedonism," affirming he had defected to demonstrate how "unjustifiable [it was] for the U.S. to send troops to South Korea", before leading a chant in homage to North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. He also wrote that plans were in the works for White to share housing with one of the other American defectors, but it eventually fell through. According to Jenkins' contacts in government, White suffered an epileptic seizure of some form and was left paralyzed. Following that, Jenkins heard nothing more about him.

In February 1983, White's parents received a letter from their son, stating that he was happy in North Korea and working as an English teacher.

In November 1985, his parents received a letter penned by a North Korean contact of White, stating that their son had died by drowning in the Ch'ongch'on River in August 1985, and his body was not recovered. A copy of the letter was released by Dick Gephardt, then a Congressman representing Missouri, in early 1986.