LT Paul Eady in the DMZ, Korea, with a North Korean guard looking on (WN10-0004-097)
By Sarah Chandler
Navy Reservist Lieutenant Paul Eady recently returned to New Zealand after six months monitoring the military armistice in Korea with United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC). As a Regular Force marine engineer LT Eady had never been posted overseas, so was delighted when he was asked to deploy to the Korea Peninsula as a Reservist.
After two weeks of pre-deployment training, which included land mine awareness; chemical, biological and radiological nuclear training; first aid training; language lessons and advice on using an interpreter, Paul arrived in Panmunjom in October 2009. Panmunjom straddles North and South Korea and is known as the “truce village” as it is near the site of the signing of the1953 Armistice and is where meetings relating to the truce have been held since.
One thing that soon struck LT Eady about the Demilitarised Zone (the four kilometre buffer zone between North and South) was the sense of general disquiet.
“The UNCMAC Secretary says monitoring this armistice feels a bit like watching National Geographic on television; you’ve got lions lying around a watering hole and hyenas on the other side,” he says, “And it’s true. Everything is peaceful but there is a tension nevertheless. I didn’t lose sleep over it, but I was certainly conscious that something could happen at any time, and there was always potential for an incident.”
LT Eady was given a one bedroom apartment at Camp Boniface, a military camp he describes as “not unlike Waiouru”. Although there was plenty of American food on offer he says he preferred Korean fare, and unusually for a New Zealand Defence Force person on operational deployment he was able to drink alcohol, as the New Zealand deployment to UNCMAC is not a “dry” mission: “In Korea, in order to build relationships, you have to be able to share a beer or Soju (the national drink). Soju, particularly is a big part of doing business in Korean culture.”
Aspects of deploying to the DMZ took some getting used to. “It’s not like living in Seoul; you can’t just walk out and do what you like. Movement can be restricted. New Zealand UNCMAC personnel are not allowed to drive in Korea, so we’re quite dependant on others. The bridge across the Imjin river (to South Korea) also closes at a certain time and if you’re not back you just have to stay overnight.”
As UNCMAC’s ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground, LT Eady’s main job was to give advice to the military command: “I had to be familiar with the Armistice Agreement, the subsequent agreements, and be able to interpret the rules and regulations. Precedents have been set but kiwis and others can add value by bringing fresh perspectives. I also observed, monitored, and reported on the DMZ. Now I think of it, I was a bit like a school prefect!”
LT Eady is quick to point out that UNCMAC personnel are monitoring compliance to a ceasefire, not a peace agreement. “We don't literally observe the border, we monitor compliance to the 1953 Armistice Agreement. Observing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that delineates between the North Korean and UN Command controlled areas, and watching for people crossing that line is done by Korean soldiers on both sides, in guard posts and observation posts throughout the DMZ,” he says.
“Monitoring compliance to the armistice requires us to maintain an awareness of what’s happening in our Area of Operations and know if activities breach the rules agreed between the two sides. Such activities might be troop and weapon movements, the building of defensive positions, the movement of certain types of materials into the DMZ (like diesel fuel), aircraft operations inside the DMZ, misidentification of personnel in the DMZ, and crossings of the military demarcation line between the two sides.
“Where it is identified that breaches have been made by either side, it is our job to investigate them and report findings and recommendations to the United Nations Command (UNC) and the Military Armistice Commission (MAC).”
There was also a Duty Officer aspect to LT Eady’s position: “I was there, so that if at two am the North Koreans want to send a note and ask for a meeting, someone is present to facilitate that.”
The United Nations mission in Korea differs from other ‘blue hat’ (UN) missions because it is commanded by the United States, instead of the UN Security Council. The Commander of the UNC in Korea reports to the US Government who then report to the Security Council or the UN General Assembly.
“Mostly it works well, but one problem with the line of reporting is that it can potentially downplay the multi-national aspect of UNCMAC, or encourage people to view the conflict as a bilateral issue between the two Korea’s and the United States, rather than between North Korea and the United Nations who are represented by the16 UN member states that form the coalition in Korea,” says LT Eady.
Reflecting on the situation facing Korea today, LT Eady concludes, “Peace wasn’t going to be negotiated overnight but I don’t think anyone dreamed it would be 57 years and counting. It may be hard to combine the two different Koreas now. The older generation has an emotional desire to see reunification but the younger generation sees the practical difficulties with it. It is a hugely complicated issue. Many people think unity would be nice but then they have seen what happened in Germany, which is still struggling with the East/West reconciliation and the social and economic difficulties that resulted from that.”
Ends
25th June 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Sometimes referred to as ‘the forgotten war’, the conflict between North and South Korea began in 1950 and lasted until a military armistice was signed in July 1953. Since then, an uneasy peace has persisted on the divided peninsula. Despite its geographical distance from Korean Peninsula, New Zealand has consistently demonstrated commitment to maintaining peace and stability there – from a heavy involvement in the Korean War itself, to present day commitments with the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC).
Background to the Korean War
The division of the Korean Peninsula has its genesis in the end of the Second World War, when Presidents Roosevelt and Stalin signed an agreement to split the formerly Japanese-ruled Korea into North and South. Soviet communists took the land north of the 38th parallel (the circle of latitude 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane), and United States’ forces took the south. Reunification was initially intended, but two different ideologies and separate systems of government soon emerged.
President Syngman Rhee declared the South the Republic of Korea (ROK), which was recognised in May 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. The communist leader in the North, Kim Il Sung, then pronounced the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, with the backing of Soviet Union.
On 25 June 1950, Kim Il Sung ordered his Army to cross the 38th parallel and invade the Republic of Korea (ROK), a move for which the South Koreans were ill-prepared. The United Nations Security Council quickly passed Resolutions 82, 83, and 84 and immediately called for international assistance from as far away as New Zealand to restore international peace and stability.
New Zealand’s contribution to the Korean War
Under Prime Minister Sidney Holland the New Zealand government responded to the United Nation’s request, sending the frigates HMNZS TUTIRA and PUKAKI, just one week later. The two frigates joined up with the British Far Eastern Fleet, and notably went on to participate in the amphibious attack, Operation Chromite, at Inchon, orchestrated by US General Douglas MacArthur.
Korea was New Zealand’s first United Nations commitment, made not only because the government agreed with the position of the United Nations on Korea, but also because it wished to contribute as a supportive ally in a UN coalition.
When a second request was made for assistance from New Zealand, and New Zealand’s regular force Army already committed elsewhere, a ground combat force made up of volunteers – known as Kayforce - was formed. Approximately 1,000 troops (designated 16 Field Regiment) sailed for the Korean Peninsula on 10 December 1950. Artillery, infantry, signallers, drivers, and engineers made up Kayforce. In total, about 4,700 men served with Kayforce.
A further 1,300 served aboard the Navy frigates TUTIRA, PUKAKI, ROTOITI, HAWEA, TAUPO and KANIERE. The ships supported raiding parties, protected supply operations and undertook patrols. Although open hostilities between the North and South ceased in 1953, New Zealand troops stayed until 1957. Between 1950 and 1957, around 6,000 New Zealanders served in Korea, and 33 died.
New Zealand’s post-war involvement in Korea
New Zealand continues to support stability on the peninsula by contributing four personnel to the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC); a Defence Attaché based in Seoul; and three officers who monitor compliance of the Armistice Agreement along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).
The DMZ is a 241km long, 4km wide buffer zone that separates North and South forces. While the DMZ remains mostly calm, it has seen a number of violations, such as weapons discharges and hostile incidents which have sometimes resulted in loss of life. It is also an area of interest for defectors.
United Nations Command mandate is to defend the ROK from aggression from North Korea and to re-establish international peace and security. The role of UNCMAC is to monitor and supervise compliance to the Armistice Agreement, investigate and report breaches or violations of the armistice, and deescalate any emerging tensions. UNCMAC also approves movement of materials and personnel into or through the southern half of the DMZ. UNCMAC is the UN part of the Military Armistice Commission which was designed as a vehicle for military dialogue between the forces from North and South of the MDL. Having three Kiwis in the area, and one Defence Attaché in Seoul, makes New Zealand the third largest contributor to UNCMAC.