Korean DMZ 'career highlight', says NZ soldier

Hawkes Bay man Fraser Toulmin has seen at close hand the uneasy relationship between North and South Korea after spending six months on the border as part of the United Nations deployment in the region.

Lieutenant Toulmin, of Elsthorpe, who joined the New Zealand Navy after leaving Napier Boy's High School four years ago, was one of three Defence Force personnel stationed in the demilitarised zone in the past six months.

He described the deployment as a career highlight. "Living and working on the most fortified border in the world, there was always something interesting to see and be involved with."

Part of his duties was inspecting guard posts and fortifications along the DMZ as well as investigating any violations of the armistice agreement.

Lieutenant Toulmin, 21, also had to brief and escort visitors, many of whom were envoys from the 16 countries committed to ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula.

"I enjoyed working with foreign militaries and getting an insight into how they conduct operations," he said.

And he got to see how potentially dangerous the situation in Korea had become going through the "fourth infiltration tunnel". Discovered in 1990, the tunnel had been built by North Korea as a means to invade the south.

The Korean stint was Lieutenant Toulmin's third overseas deployment as he also served aboard HMNZS Te Mana in the Arabian Gulf in 2004 and travelled to Vladivostok in 2005.

He said the Navy challenged him "mentally and physically", which had been his ambition.