There are not many people in the world that have a direct dial to North Korea, but New Zealand Defence Force Army Captain Greg Mildon is one of them.
He works near Conference Row, the famous blue buildings that straddle the border of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and North Korea, ensuring that if one military wants to talk to the other, they can.
Mildon’s deployment comes at a time of heightened tensions between the North and South, compounded by a US Army soldier who ran into the Democratic Republic of Korea last week and hasn’t been heard from since.
North Korea has become very aggressive in recent years, with increased nuclear activity and military provocations, including several ballistic missile tests this week.
A distinguished South Korean International Relations Professor said to expect further provocations ahead of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice on Thursday.
Mildon described working in the DMZ as a surreal experience in a complex environment.
And it’s a situation that’s undoubtedly become even more difficult since private Travis King ran away from his tour group.
After a week of silence, the United Nations Command and KPA have begun to discuss the case. However, Mildon was unable to discuss the incident when speaking with Stuff.
The Demilitarised Zone is a roughly 4km by 250km strip of land that separates the Korean Peninsula.
It is the most heavily militarised border in the world, littered with mines, barbed wire fences, armed watchtowers and tens of thousands of soldiers.
Mildon is one of 12 New Zealand Defence force troops stationed in South Korea. Half of them regularly work in the demilitarised zone, while the other half are stationed south of Seoul in Camp Humphreys.
The New Zealand deployment to the United Nations Command is one of the largest in the world, second only to the US.
Defence Minister Andrew Little has just confirmed the extension of our contribution until September 2024. Kiwis have been posted here since 1998.
Mildon described the New Zealand deployment as vital to global security.
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He said while he hasn’t felt fear during the first four months of his deployment, the threat is constant.
“It's not a dangerous place, but it's a place that there's a high degree of risk. So if incidents do occur in this area, the fallout – the political fallout – is significant,” he said.
Several other Kiwis work as part of the education team, including Commander Phil Wheadon, who described his job as stopping a Cold War turning hot.
“I think it really does demonstrate that we (New Zealand) can make a real difference in the world, by contributing to security around the world. So yeah, I'm very proud to be here,” he said.
Wheadon also works in the Demilitarised Zone alongside the Republic of Korea Army to educate them on the war history and armistice obligations.
After they turn 18, Korean men are required to serve between 18-21 months in the military, meaning there is an endless rotation of South Korean soldiers to bring up to speed.
Wheadon said that while the Demilitarised Zone is a long way from Aotearoa, he said New Zealanders shouldn’t think of themselves as isolated simply because they’re surrounded by water.
“If something goes wrong here in Korea, we will feel it in New Zealand,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta recently travelled to the DMZ and said for her it reinforced the very imminent and real threat Kim John Un’s regime poses.
“We have to be very clear-eyed about it. North Korea's actions are not the types of actions that make it a responsible member of the international community,” she said.
Seoul National University International Relations professor Lee Geun emphatically described the state of affairs between the two Koreas as “very bad”.
He said things have been going downhill since the Hanoi Summit in 2019 which resulted in Korea becoming increasingly aggressive and threatening, particularly in their military provocations.
“North Korea is now on the defensive, as they know that they exposed their real face to the international society. So the relationship between the two countries is more confrontational,” he said.
A new, more conservative, South Korean government was elected in 2022 and Lee said they are taking a much harder stance with their nuclear armed neighbour than their predecessors.
He said neither side had many cards to play and doesn’t see a way forward with negotiations at the moment, but said the worst case scenario, war, is a distant threat.
“Nobody wants a war on the Korean Peninsula at the moment. North Korea knows that. We know that. And the USA knows that,” he said.
Lee commended New Zealand’s ongoing contribution to the peace on the peninsula and highlighted how similar the two countries are in terms of values, cultures and positions on international relations.
He said South Korea is indebted to countries like New Zealand for helping their nation go from one of the poorest in the world following the Korean War, to a top 10 global power, something that has been achieved in his lifetime.
“I know that violence is the thing that we should avoid at all costs. And I know the importance of freedom … I feel very appreciative of the contribution of New Zealand in developing the so-called the liberal international order and Korea wants to pay [the favour] back.”
Shannon Redstall and Chris Skelton’s travel to South Korea was made possible by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
