By Via NK Econ Watch comes this news that as of 2003 there was 69 North Koreans serving in the US Military:
You can view the full document at this link.
I’m not sure how accurate I believe this number to be considering that of 2009 there was only 81 North Korean refugees settled in the US. I wonder if some citizens of South Korea got confused as being from North Korea in these statistics because I would be shocked if there was 69 North Koreans in the US military. I have never met a North Korean in the US military, has anyone else?
3:03 pm on March 22nd, 2011 1
When you lack food, you eat just that much harder…
"Odyssey Dawn and the 69 North Korean"
3:27 pm on March 22nd, 2011 2
"wonder if some citizens of South Korea got confused as being from North Korea…"
Yeah, I can see that happening in more than one ways.
Recruiter : "Where are you from originally?"
Recruit: "Paju"
Recruiter: "Where's that?"
Recruit: "It's near North Korea"
I've had a lot of mail never show up only to find out with the tracking number that it had been delivered…in North Korea.
3:52 pm on March 22nd, 2011 3
Database error.
5:18 pm on March 22nd, 2011 4
Or data entry error. Maybe a result of (stupidly) listing them as Korea, N/S? Why not list them using their "official" recognized name (Republic Of Korea).
That's always an annoyance when filling out forms online – which way did THIS site list it? South Korea? Korea, South? Republic Of Korea? Or – my favorite – just plain "Korea", as if there's only 1.
5:30 pm on March 22nd, 2011 5
One time when I was stationed in El Paso, TX I received a business sized envelope. I opened it & inside was a regular sized envelope containing a letter from my Mom that had been opened. My Mom had mailed the envelope to me to El Paso, TX which is of course here in the USA. The envelope ended up at some US corporation in MEXICO. Some nice person at the company was kind enough to have mailed the opened envelope to me at my address. North Koreans in the US Army? I hope they're not wearing those Kim Il Sung badges on their uniforms or refer to their NCO's & Commissioned Officers as "Comrade". When I was stationed at the 121 Evac in Yongsan from 1979-1980 one of the Korean civilians who delivered the meal trays & picked the used trays up had been a lieutenant in the North Korean Army during the Korean war. He never mentioned or talked about it but the other Korean mess hall workers told me about it.
7:04 pm on March 22nd, 2011 6
Only 4,000 Mexicans? That's surprising with the ease with which they can become US citizens through military service.
7:27 pm on March 22nd, 2011 7
#6 Why go to all the trouble? They're waiting on amnesty. Or, enjoying their tax-free status.
8:26 pm on March 22nd, 2011 8
I teach at a university in Seoul in which I have all of my students register for a website that we use. Every semester, about 10% mark that they live in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. They simply are not used to seeing the full English versions of the country names.
That percentage isn't too far off from the list above, so I tend to believe that it is an error.
8:49 pm on March 22nd, 2011 9
#8
That's interesting but I don't believe that's the case here.
A significant portion of the personnel in the military have security clearances. Even for those that don't require an in-depth background check, there is a minimal one for such things as criminal history. I suspect that if anyone were to inadvertently indicate a North Korean background it would initiate some further checking and verification.
10:08 pm on March 22nd, 2011 10
#7, some care about the rules, others want citizenship to bring their families…
Apparently not everyone signs all the right papers: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369077/B…
11:00 pm on March 22nd, 2011 11
#4 and 8,
Yes, that's exactly how I seriously think 69 "North Koreans" ended up in the US Armed Forces. Republic of Korea, People's Democratic (cough, cough) Republic of Korea. It's an honest mistake to think that the one that has "Democratic" in its name is actually the one that is democratic.
11:07 pm on March 22nd, 2011 12
What did I miss. I do not see the U.S. listed anywhere…..
Maybe to many cool ones this evening…But I do feel good.
3:37 am on March 23rd, 2011 13
I'm pretty sure foreigners cannot be commissioned officers. This list is suspect.
5:49 am on March 23rd, 2011 14
#13, you mean there's inaccurate info in the internet? Call Al Gore! He'll fix it!!
8:15 am on March 23rd, 2011 15
#14,
You might want to sit down…Ready? There are whole sites that have innacurate info. Just check http://www.foxnews.com, for example.
8:56 am on March 23rd, 2011 16
I knew this list was bogus when it said there were 3 soldiers from Kyrgyzstan who obviously weren't issued any vowels.
9:01 am on March 23rd, 2011 17
#16 There has been a well known vowel shortage in that part of the world for some time now. Perhaps we should have school children carry buckets of vowels around so they can appreciated the plight of the vowel-less.
9:42 am on March 23rd, 2011 18
I knew this list was bogus when there were 100 enlisted soldiers from Kenya but no mention of the Commander in Chief.
10:05 am on March 23rd, 2011 19
#18, don't tell Donald Trump!
10:07 am on March 23rd, 2011 20
#15, I don't go there; but I'll take your word for it… What sites besides ROKDrop are free of errors?
12:08 am on March 24th, 2011 21
I'm surprised with the 150 officers on active duty who were still foreign citizens. Now, I know of a few exceptions where you can get commissioned without being naturalized (notably, my beloved Chaplain Corps) – but 150 non-citizen officers? I'm impressed. What does this do to your OER when you can't have a clearance?
1:19 am on March 24th, 2011 22
I knew this list was bogus when it said there were 4008 soldiers from Mexico yet not one tank has a chromed chain steering wheel with accessory rail or velvet dingle balls in desert cammo.
4:32 am on March 24th, 2011 23
Those born in U.S. Territories like Guam and Puerto Rice should be U.S. citizens. The only difference being they don't have full voting rights, but that shouldn't be the distinction here.
So, were they born on Guam or in Puerto Rico, gave up their citizenship for some reason, then joined the U.S. military later? If that's what this list means, then I would expect to see some USA mainland born non-citizens on this list too.
10:10 am on March 24th, 2011 24
I just noticed there are only 533 South Koreans… Bullshit! Hell there are double that number in Korea alone.
1:07 pm on March 25th, 2011 25
JoeC, People born in Puerto Rico & Guam ARE US Citizens that do not have full voting rights just like someone born in Washington, DC is a US Citizen except that they don't have full voting rights. The common denominator is that all three territories are not states. Leon LaPorte #24, great point, when I was stationed in Korea we had & I saw many South Koreans serving in the US Army. Five Hundred and Thirty Three seems like a very low number unless things have changed. Many Koreans joined the Army to help them earn US Citizenship earlier than otherwise. We used to call the Koreans in the US Army "Kimchi GI's." I wonder if the same phrase is used now.
1:59 pm on March 25th, 2011 26
I think the number of Koreans is too high… at least by one.
http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-03-03/news/dp…
3:20 pm on March 25th, 2011 27
Chickenhead #26, I have more sympathy for a child molester than I do for a traitor. I think all child molesters should be sent to prison, tied in a butt side up position, & left to the other prisoners. After that fun the relatives of the victim should have free rein with the POS. I doubt what I think should happen to traitors would pass GI Korea's editorial review. The thought that someone could wear the uniform & sell out our country makes me want to puke. If this "sailor" is found guilty & by some reason I was allowed to get hold of him, the only sailing that he would do would be in an ocean of molten lava. Just the thought of somebody like this enrages me.
3:47 pm on March 25th, 2011 28
Tom Langley's opinion of note,
"prefers molesters to traitors", I quote.
Even with this internal strife,
he can make it through life,
but it must be hard for him to vote.
6:12 pm on March 25th, 2011 29
Chickenhead the Master, You really need to write a book of limericks, you could make a mint!
9:09 pm on March 25th, 2011 30
#15– Fox News is bad because it doesn't automatically fawn all over the Chocolate Jesus and his ilk. I think I understand now. Now– go to CNN, ABC, CBC, and you get rock solid, "take it to the bank" truth and balance. For extra measure toss in NPR.
As to the north Koreans, hell, if we can get drug, criminal background, and other waivers, why not a person from an enemy country? Considering some of the officers I have spoken with who are as far to the left as Castro, they would ought to feel right at home.