No Kum-sok

Template:Koreanname noimage No Kum-Sok (later Kenneth Rowe) (1932?- ) was a lieutenant in the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea. In 1953, he flew his MiG-15 to the Kimpo air base in South Korea, claiming that he wanted to get away from the "red deceit"[1]. He received a $100,000 reward for defecting with his aircraft, which he claimed to have not heard about prior to his defection[2]. He later emigrated to the United States, graduated from the University of Delaware, married and became a US citizen; he later worked as an aeronautical engineer for Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Motors, General Electric, Lockheed, DuPont, and Westinghouse. He was joined in the U.S by his mother, who had been evacuated from North Korea. After emigrating, he anglicized his name to "Kenneth Rowe".

He also wrote a book, A MiG-15 to Freedom (ISBN 0-7864-0210-5) about his defection and previous life in North Korea.

References

• Operation Moolah: The Plot to Steal a MiG-15
• US Air Force Museum
• Ken Rowe, a.k.a. No-Kum Sok: A MiG-15 to Freedom