July 2, 2009 - Vero Beach – With smoke, machine gun fire and debris all around him, North Korean military pilot No Kum-Sok gave little thought to his opponents who were trying to shoot down his MIG-15 during the Korean War.

All he was thinking about was survival.

But 56 years later, No Kum-Sok and one of his former adversaries, Wes Tillis of Vero Beach, who flew B-29 fighter planes for the United States, have formed a strong friendship, reunited by a magazine article about the North Korean pilot’s defection to the west.

The pair shared their story at a lecture Wednesday afternoon at the Regency Park senior community in Vero Beach.

No Kum-Sok, who has changed his name to Ken Rowe and now lives in Daytona Beach, said he was pleased when Tillis contacted him about seven years ago regarding their shared experiences. He said that even in wartime, he respected the American pilots and thought they were well-educated and civilized.

It was so nice because I always wondered what we were fighting about,” said Rowe. “During the war, I always wanted to meet Americans, not hurt them.”

Tillis said reading about Rowe in the magazine article was an unbelievable coincidence and he was shocked to find out that the two had opposed each other during combat. “The first time I met him, I tried to kill him,” said Tillis. “But I guess he was trying to kill me, too.”

Rowe said he always was pro-American and as a child used to dream about living in the United States. He joined the North Korean Navy as a way to train as a pilot, hoping one day that he could fly his way to freedom.

“I thought that as a naval officer, I would have a better chance to escape,” Rowe said.
After defecting to the allies and providing them with a wealth of intelligence information, Rowe moved to America and became a U.S. citizen. He taught aeronautical engineering in Daytona Beach before his retirement, but has kept abreast of the current tensions between North Korea and the western world.

They don’t respect the civilized world,” Rowe said. “A treaty with North Korea means nothing and they’re making a lot of noise now because they want to get U.S. aid.”

Vero Beach resident Patty Woerner attended Wednesday’s lecture and said she was moved by the story that Rowe told of his defection. “I was in tears,” said Woerner, whose father was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. “The bravery and courage that he displayed was just amazing. I’m sure that my father would have thought so as well.”

By Janet Begley
Correspondent