Defection - Famous Defectors

Famous Defectors

• No Kum-Sok (later Kenneth Rowe) is known for having been a lieutenant in the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea. On September 21, 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" and is often associated with Operation Moolah.
• Heng Samrin, a top-brass military figure in Democratic Kampuchea defected to Vietnam during the Khmer Rouge purges of the Eastern Zone after considering the fate of So Phim, his superior in command.
• Riad al-Asaad Founder of the Free Syrian Army and the Entire Tlass Family during the Syrian Civil War
• Benedict Arnold‚ a colonial general who during the American Revolutionary War defected to the British army.