Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 – August 17, 1985) was a United States Army soldier who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982. [1] Born to Norval and Kathleen White, [2] he had four siblings and volunteered for the 1980 Reagan presidential campaign before he could vote.

Jan 20, 2023 · Joseph T. White The last person to join the defection dream team came on Aug. 28, 1982, when Pvt. Joseph White shot a lock off a gate at the Korean DMZ and started walking through the minefields. Carrying his M-16 rifle and ammo, he walked north and called out “I am coming” to his soon-to-be new best friends, according to Asia Times.

On August 28, 1982, at about 2 a.m., the sound of a single gunshot at the Panmunjom region of Korea's Demilitarized Zone began a night of unexpected surprise - the defection of an American soldier to North Korea. PFC Joseph T. White, was alone at his post.

Sep 2, 1982 · The parents of Pfc. Joseph T. White say they do not believe assertions by North Korea that the Army infantryman has asked for political asylum. Private White, 20 years old, was on civil...

Sep 20, 1982 · 'Pfc. (Joseph T.) White defected to North Korea for motives that are not known,' the command said Sunday in its final investigation report on the case. White's family in St. Louis, Mo., said...

Nov 30, 2019 · PFC Joseph T. White, a member of the 1st Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment, was alone at his post when he shot off the lock of one of the gates leading into the 2.5-mile-wide DMZ, and...

Nov 30, 2019 · PFC Joseph T. White, a member of the 1st Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment, was alone at his post when he shot off the lock of one of the gates leading into the 2.5-mile-wide DMZ, and...

Feb 23, 2007 · One American soldier claims that White fell in love with a North Korean agent in a club in the village of Bongilchon and that she disappeared on the same day White did. Allegedly she either guided him to the North Korean positions or she met him in the North.

Jan 27, 2025 · He is an American soldier and one of the American soldiers who defected to North Korea. It is reported that he died in an accident in the Cheongcheon River while staying in North Korea, but there is controversy about the authenticity of this claim.

Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 – August, 1985) born in St. Louis, Missouri, was a private in the United States Army who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982.