This list names the 22 United Nations soldiers and prisoners of war (one Briton and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States after the Korean War in favour of remaining in China, and their subsequent fates. Also listed are soldiers who defected to North Korea.

Background

Prisoner repatriation was one of the greatest stumbling blocks in the long cease-fire negotiations between the forces of the UN and those of China and North Korea. The warring factions finally agreed on an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners, Operation Little Switch, which was carried out in April and May 1953. That June, the two sides agreed that no prisoner who did not wish to be repatriated would be forced to do so (this had long been a sticking point in negotiations, with the Chinese and North Koreans wanting all prisoners returned to their home countries). Prisoners who did not wish to go back to their home countries would be given 90 days in a neutral compound near Panmunjom to reconsider before being allowed to stay in enemy territory. Following the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement (which South Korea declined to sign) on 27 July 1953 which brought the fighting in the Korean War to a halt, the main prisoner exchange was free to proceed. Operation Big Switch, the exchange of remaining prisoners of war, commenced in early August 1953, and lasted into December. 75,823 communist soldiers (70,183 North Koreans, 5,640 Chinese) were returned to their homelands. 12,773 UN soldiers (7,862 South Koreans, 3,597 Americans, and 946 British) were sent back south across the armistice line. Over 14,000 communist soldiers, many of whom were former Republic of China soldiers who fought against the communists in the Chinese Civil War, refused repatriation. Similarly, one Briton and 23 American soldiers (along with 327 South Koreans) also refused to be returned to their homelands. Two, Corporal Claude Batchelor and Corporal Edward Dickenson, changed their minds before the 90-day window expired. Both were court-martialed and sentenced to prison terms, with Batchelor serving 4½ years and Dickenson 3½. This left 22 UN soldiers who voluntarily stayed with the communists after the final exchange of prisoners. The 21 Americans were given dishonourable discharges. This had the unintended consequence of rendering them immune to court-martial when they finally returned to the U.S. (which the majority eventually did), because they were no longer active-duty military. However, they were still criminally culpable for any acts of collaboration or offenses against fellow prisoners committed while they were POWs. At about 4:00 am on 24 February 1954, a train carrying the 21 American defectors crossed the Yalu River into China. The Chinese soon shipped some of the men off to study language and politics. Others went to mills, factories, and farms across Eastern China.

List of defectors

American

British

Andrew Condron, a Scotsman of 41 (Independent) Royal Marine Commando, was the only Briton to decline repatriation. Allegations of American biological warfare during the Korean War have been reported to have influenced Condron's decision to live in China; however, those who knew him have said he was motivated by admiration of Maoism and Marxist theory. Regarding his desertion Condron said "I made my gesture because I am against war. I have spent my years in China learning a lot." The British government refused to rule out the possibility of arrest and trial if he returned to the UK. Regarding Condron, Lieutenant Colonel J. L. Lindop of the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty stated that the Royal Navy "regard Condron as a deserter and ... he is liable to be arrested and charged with desertion" and as a result it was difficult for Condron to return to the UK. In 1955, Condron was included in the editor's list for a book entitled: Thinking Soldiers – by Men Who Fought in Korea. In the following quotation written by Condron he expresses his disillusionment with military life: "'...the soldier today can no longer be viewed as a robot. The more different kinds of experience he has, the more he fits them together in his mind. That is why all those who consider the soldier merely as a thing to be used, like the rifle he carries or the pack he wears, are bound to come out very badly in their calculations. Our experience, and that of the men who wrote this book, included battle, capture and much thought in Korea. We were a few among many thousands." Despite political and personal reasons for his defection, Condron's lifestyle in China challenged the core socialist values of the regime. The Foreign Office and British embassy in Beijing reported Condron had been drinking "on a fairly hearty scale" and fraternising with Chinese girls, which was taboo at the time. In 1959 Condron was in a relationship with Jaquelin Hsiung-Baudet, an illegitimate daughter of the French diplomat Philipe Baudet whom he met while working as an English teacher at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Condron returned to the UK in 1960 due to growing xenophobia in China, and received an honourable discharge from the Royal Marines. In 1962, Jaquelin moved to the UK to join her then husband. In 1963, Condron worked selling copies of Encyclopædia Britannica door-to-door, while Jaquelin worked at the BBC World Service. Condron and his wife had a son, Simon, who attended the University of Cambridge in the 1970s. Jaquelin divorced Condron due to alcoholism and later emigrated to the U.S. His son, Simon, worked at the BBC and Condron lived in his London flat until his death in March 1996 at the age of 68.

Documentaries

Additional defectors since the ceasefire

Seven additional American servicemen are known to have defected to North Korea since the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement: