In 1970, he learned from a fellow defector that, as punishment for his defection, his best friend, Lieutenant Kun Soo Sung, had been executed along with four other pilots in his chain of command who were also executed by firing squad. One of the pilots and a friend in his squadron became the General of the Korean People's Army. General [[O Kuk-ryol]], who became the vice chairman of the National Defence Commission in 2009, was considered by some the second most powerful man in North Korea.<ref name="AFM"/><ref name="PSYWarrior.com"/>
In 1996, he wrote and published a book, ''A MiG-15 to Freedom'', about his defection and previous life in North Korea.<ref name="Mig to freedom" /> No retired in 2000 after working 17 years as an [[aeronautical engineering]] professor at [[Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University]].<ref name="AFM"/><ref name=pmlaa>{{cite journalweb | author=Zenobia, Keith | url=http://www.pmlaa.org/newsletters/2004-09.pdf | publisher=Pine Mountain Lakes Aviation Association Newsletter | title=Ken Rowe, a.k.a. No Kum-Sok: A MiG-15 to Freedom | date=September 2004 | volume=19 | issue=9 | page=1 | access-date=2013-09-22 | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235729/http://www.pmlaa.org/newsletters/2004-09.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> A biography of No by [[Blaine Harden]] was published in 2015 as ''The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and The Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2015/0319/The-Great-Leader-and-the-Fighter-Pilot-presents-a-riveting-slice-of-North-Korean-history|title='The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot' presents a riveting slice of North Korean history|author=Terry Hong|date=2015-03-19|work=[[Christian Science Monitor]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912055627/https://m.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2015/0319/The-Great-Leader-and-the-Fighter-Pilot-presents-a-riveting-slice-of-North-Korean-history|archive-date=2017-09-12|access-date=2015-03-21}}</ref> Harden had interviewed No and access to newly released intelligence about him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-01657-0 |title=The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=2015-03-21 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125131/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-01657-0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
