North Korea in the Korean War Soviets. Neither dictator was content to remain on his side of the 38th parallel, however, and border skirmishes were common. Even so, the North Korean invasion came as an alarming surprise to American officials. As far as they were concerned, this was not simply a border dispute between two unstable dictatorships on the other side of the globe. Instead, many feared it was the first step in a communist campaign to take over the world. For this reason, nonintervention was not considered an option by many top decision makers. As the North Korean army pushed into Seoul, the South Korean
New Zealand in the Korean War was killed in February 1953 when his Hawker Sea Fury was shot down by ground fire. Five New Zealanders took part in Royal Australian Navy missions over Korea from the Australian carrier HMAS "Sydney". Some of these pilots were former RNZAF members, others joining directly the British and Australian forces. New Zealand in the Korean War The involvement of New Zealand in the Korean War began in 1950 as a response to the United Nations Security Council's call for combat assistance in the erupting Korean War. New Zealand was one of the first (of a total of sixteen) nations to